FMCG company Dabur on Thursday said that the company expects its consolidated revenue to report a mid-single digit growth during Q4FY24 on sluggish demand trends during the quarter. The revenue growth estimates, it added, also factored in the 2.3 per cent inorganic revenue growth till December 2023 on account of the Badshah Masala acquisition.
In an exchange filing, Dabur said, “Rural growth picked up fuelled by price rollbacks in staples which led to the gap between rural and urban narrowing. With a positive outlook for the rabi crop harvest and monsoon forecast to be normal, we expect consumption to pick up in the coming months.”
The FMCG firm’s health and personal care segment in India is expected to grow in high single digits during Q4 while the healthcare and F&B segments are expected to register low single digit growth. Dabur said that the F&B category had a high base of last year and the healthcare portfolio was impacted due to the delayed winter. It maintained that Dabur continued to gain market share across categories driven by strong execution. Badshah Masala, meanwhile, continued to perform well and is expected to post strong volume led growth in high teens.
Dabur’s international business is expected to register double digit growth in constant currency terms, led by good momentum in the MENA region, Egypt and Turkey. However, due to the impact of currency depreciation in Turkey and Egypt, the translated revenue in INR terms will show growth in mid single digits, it said.
Gross margins for the company are likely to continue to witness expansion on account of deflation in input cost and cost- saving initiatives. The operating profit is expected to grow slightly ahead of the revenue and post an improvement in YoY operating margins. “In line with the strategy to invest behind our brands we will see higher A&P spends,” Dabur said.
Going forward, Dabur expects improvement in consumption on robust macro-economic indicators. “Our focus on investing behind our brands, distribution expansion, manufacturing capabilities and organization will keep us in good stead to capture the opportunities in the marketplace,” it said.