Godrej Consumer Products Limited is optimistic of a recovery in consumer demand over the next 12-18 months, aided by softer food inflation, more money in consumers’ hands through tax breaks and the implementation of Pay Commission recommendations.
“I am bullish about consumer demand over the next 12-18 months. Food price inflation has come down in the January-March quarter. We will see the benefit of income tax reduction announced in the budget, plus a lot of the welfare schemes that the government has implemented last year. There is also the Pay Commission benefits. We have seen that every time in the past, there is a Pay Commission benefit, FMCG sector does well,” Sudhir Sitapati, MD and CEO, GCPL, said.
He said that till a $10,000 per capita GDP, FMCG volume growth usually tends to beat the GDP growth rate. “Over the last two years, the median volume growth (for FMCG) has been 4 per cent, and GDP is in the 6-6.5 range. So there has been a 2-3 per cent deviation, which I think is short-term and it should come back,” he said.
The company, which announced its fourth quarter financial results on Wednesday, has given guidance of a mid-high single-digit volume growth, high single-digit consolidated revenue growth and double-digit EBITDA growth for FY26.
The FMCG company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹411.9 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2025, helped by a volume growth in the domestic market. It had incurred a loss of ₹1,893.21 crore in the January-March period a year ago due to impairment of loss towards its Africa (including ‘Strength Of Nature’) business.
The company has planned a capital expenditure of around ₹700 crore for over the next 18-24 months, towards expansion of new lines in its Indian factories and to commission a new factory in Indonesia, Sitapati said to a query from The Telegraph.
Dabur net declines
Homegrown FMCG major Dabur India on Wednesday reported an 8.35 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at ₹312.73 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025, impacted by higher expenses in a challenging demand environment.
The company had posted a profit of ₹341.22 crore a year ago.
“We expect consumer demand in India to recover progressively in the coming quarters, both in urban and rural markets,” Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra said.
Revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at ₹2,830.14 crore against ₹2,814.64 crore in the year-ago period, it added.