Dabur net falls 5.4% to Rs 476 cr in Q3, revenue crosses Rs 3,000 cr mark

Customers shifting to more affordable, smaller packs slows down FMCG firm's rural growth

Dabur India on Thursday reported a 5.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 476 crore for the quarter ended December, compared to Rs 503 crore the same period last year.

The FMCG and ayurveda products company’s revenue from operations grew 3.4 per cent to Rs 3,043 crore to cross the Rs 3,000-crore mark for the time in a quarter, it said in a statement.

However, as per Bloomberg, the company's net sales estimates for Q3 were Rs 3091 crores, while net profit was estimated at Rs 494 crore.

In constant currency terms, consolidated revenue grew 5.7 per cent YoY. International business grew 14 per cent in constant currency terms.

“We have delivered steady results in what continues to be a difficult cost and operating environment. We continued to adjust prices responsibly to reflect inflation,” said Mohit Malhotra, Dabur India’s chief executive officer.

The impact of inflation was pronounced in the rural markets. Customers shifting to more affordable and smaller packs led to rural growth lagging urban for the second quarter in a row for the company.

“However, we believe that this demand slump in rural areas has bottomed out as we are now seeing some green shoots of revival in the hinterland,” Malhotra said.

Urban growth will be driven by softening of inflation and buoyancy in new-age channels like modern trade and e-commerce, the company said.

“We have increased our coverage to over 100,000 villages, up from 89,840 at the end of the previous fiscal,” Malhotra said.