Dabur Q3 results: Net profit rises marginally to Rs 504 cr; revenue up 8%

Homegrown FMCG major Dabur India Ltd on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 504 crore, up 2 per cent, in the quarter ending December 31, 2021. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 493.5 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated net profit for the 9-month period marked a 10 per cent growth, while the India FMCG business reported a 13 per cent volume growth for the 9-month period, Dabur said in a statement.

The company's consolidated revenue from operations rose 8 per cent to Rs 2,942 crore in the quarter under preview as against Rs 2,729 crore a year ago, while the total income for the quarter increased to Rs 3,038.49 versus Rs 2,809.77 in the same quarter last fiscal.

Further, the company's EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose 9.3 per cent to Rs 628 crore in Q3FY22 in comparison to Rs 574 crore in Q3FY21, while the EBIDTA margin also rose 30 basis points to 21.3 per cent.

The company stated that overall operating environment remained challenging throughout the quarter with unprecedented inflation of 13% and subdued consumer sentiments

"We have mitigated the impact of inflation partially through calibrated price increases and cost-saving initiatives. Despite these macro-economic headwinds, we remained focused on rolling our consumer-centric innovation that expanded our total addressable market, besides gaining market share across 100% of our product portfolio, which is unprecedented. Our investments in distribution footprint expansion in rural India helped drive growth even in a challenging environment with rural demand for Dabur outpacing urban demand by 500bps," Dabur India Ltd Chief Executive Officer Mr. Mohit Malhotra said. 

The FMCG company saw a "marked revival" in discretionary spending by consumers, which helped the Home & Personal care business grow by 8.4 per cent, added Malhotra. 

"While our Healthcare portfolio was impacted due to the high base of the previous year and a marked drop in demand for COVID-contextual products, this business reported a 2-year CAGR of 11.4 per cent. Excluding the COVID-contextual range of Chyawanprash and Honey, our domestic FMCG Volume Growth stood at 8 per vent for the third quarter," he further stated.

Segment-wise growth: 

Dabur's F&Bs business continued to be the outperformer in Q3, growing by 38%. "Dabur's Foods business under the Homemade brand with a range of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products, will become Rs 100-crore business by the end of the 2021-22 financial year," Malhotra said.

The home care business ended the quarter with a 19 per cent growth while the skin care business, excluding the sanitiser range, grew by 20 per cent during the quarter. The digestives business grew by 12.2 per cent while the hair care category reported an 8.4 per cent growth, riding on an over 21 per cent surge in shampoo business.

Dabur's toothpaste business also reported a strong industry-leading 8.1 per cent growth while the ayurvedic ethicals business grew by 8.3 per cent during the quarter.

Further, Dabur posted "handsome market share gains across the entire portfolio, led by a 514bps improvement in juices & nectars market share to the highest-ever share of 64.3%," the company further added.

Dabur's share in the Chyawanprash category improved by 200bps to 63.6%. In the honey market, Dabur reported a market share gain of 180bps. It also reported a 90bps market share gain in hair oils, with share of pure coconut oil market increasing 120bps. 

Dabur's share increased by 50bps in the Toothpaste market and 40bps in the Shampoo category. Dabur also reported a 50bps increase in Air Freshener market share and a 40bps gain in mosquito repellent cream category

On Wednesday, shares of Dabur India closed 2.01 per cent higher at Rs 557.40 apiece on BSE.