Colgate-Palmolive (India) on Thursday reported a nearly 17% fall in its September quarter net profit at Rs 328 crore versus Rs 395 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue from operations in the quarter stood at Rs 1,507 crore, down 6.3% from Rs 1,609 crore a year ago.
The company said it was a tough quarter on a high growth base, impacted by GST-led disruptions. Both Q2 topline and bottomline were below Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs 1,565 crore and Rs 347 crore for the period.
Colgate also added that excluding the one-time impact of interest on tax refund in the base year, profit declined by 7.2% in the quarter. Also, Colgate’s entire oral portfolio moved from 18% to 5% hurting value growth, sector experts said. Most FMCG companies are reporting tepid growth in Q2 on account of GST trade disruptions.
Investors shrugged off Colgate-Palmolive’s weak numbers on Thursday, with the stock closing 1.3% up versus the previous day’s close on the BSE at Rs 2,288.80 apiece.
“While we continued to navigate through a difficult operating environment, our second quarter performance also reflects the transitory disruption at distributors and retailers across channels caused by the GST rate revision. Our first half performance cycles a high base of double-digit net sales growth in the base period, and we expect a gradual recovery in performance in the second half,” Prabha Narasimhan, MD & CEO of Colgate-Palmolive (India), said.
The company also declared its first interim dividend of Rs 24 per equity share for the financial year 2025-26. The interim dividend will be paid on November 19, with November 3 set as the record date.
Colgate-Palmolive’s profit after tax (PAT) was up 2.1% on a sequential basis over Rs 321 crore, while revenue jumped 6.1% on a quarter-on-quarter basis compared to Rs 1,421 crore for the quarter ended June 30.
Narasimhan said the company had worked closely with its trade partners to pass on lower prices to consumers from the effective date. She added that the company’s margin profile remained resilient, driven by strong execution.
“Despite topline headwinds, we remain committed to our long-term strategic goals and continue to prioritise brand investments. The premium portfolio continued strong growth momentum led by Colgate Visible White Purple, our advanced whitening toothpaste,” she added.