Dabur India Q2 net rises 20 pc to Rs 482.86 cr

Homegrown FMCG major Dabur India on Tuesday reported a 19.62 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 482.86 crore for the second quarter ended September on account of higher revenue from operations. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 403.64 crore in the same quarter last financial year, Dabur India said in a regulatory filing.

Dabur India said the company "reported a strong growth in its performance for the second quarter of 2020-21, backed by sustained efforts in driving demand for its ayurvedic healthcare, hygiene and nutrition products, coupled with strong innovation to meet the emerging consumer needs in the wake of the COVID pandemic". Revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,516.04 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal as against Rs 2,211.97 crore in the year-ago period, a growth of 13.74 per cent, it added.

Commenting on the financial performance, Dabur India Chief Executive Officer Mohit Malhotra said: "While COVID-19 continues to impact people around the world, Dabur India Ltd's strategic business transformation exercise to develop and implement aggressive growth strategies in the core business areas and successfully address the emerging challenges helped us deliver a healthy topline growth accompanied by an expansion in margin". Malhotra said Dabur continued to focus on strengthening its core healthcare portfolio with the introduction of new innovations, coupled with heavy investments behind its power brands and expanding its distribution might.

"This has enabled the company to grow ahead of categories and gain market share across the portfolio. “As Dabur continued to move forward on its distribution expansion strategy in the hinterland, rural demand grew ahead of urban favourable monsoon and enhanced stimulus announced by the government as part of its overall thrust on boosting the rural economy is expected to further drive rural demand in the coming months," he added. During the quarter under review, Dabur said its India FMCG business recorded a growth of 19.8 per cent on the back of volume growth of 16.8 per cent. Dabur's International business reported 5.5 per cent growth in rupee terms.

The company said its Board of Directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.75 per equity share for the financial year 2020-21. Shares of Dabur Ltd closed 2.24 per cent higher at Rs 517.50 apiece on the BSE.