Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) will retain its FY27 guidance of delivering high single-digit volume growth and double-digit revenue and Ebitda growth, while sharpening its focus on execution, newly-appointed MD & CEO Aasif Malbari said in an investor call this week. Malbari, who was earlier global CFO at GCPL, replaced former MD & CEO Sudhir Sitapati on Wednesday. Sitapati had resigned on Monday three days after his reappointment received shareholder approval at the company’s 26th Annual General Meeting.
Reviving Core Categories
Malbari’s immediate priority, he said, would be to revive underperforming core categories and make the company’s newer growth bets scale faster. These include pet care, liquid detergents and premium personal care. The company will also create a separate India CEO role in the coming quarters, with internal and external candidates under consideration.
The India CEO will report to Malbari and will be tasked to fix the weak spots and bring execution speed to the India business. One immediate test is liquid vaporisers (LVs), where GCPL had hoped for a bigger payoff following development of a patented mosquito-repellent molecule called Renofluthrin in 2024. While the molecule has been incorporated into its mosquito insecticide portfolio, the company admitted that sales of LVs continued to lag.
The maker of brands such as GoodKnight, Hit, Cinthol and Godrej No.1 derived 42% of its FY26 revenue from home care (including household insecticides) and 58% from personal care (including soaps, hair care and hair colour) a report by ICRA in July said. The company closed FY26 with consolidated revenue of Rs 15,177.90 crore, up 8.4% versus the previous year, alongside a net profit of Rs 1,861.47 crore versus Rs 1,852.30 crore reported in FY25.
In-House R&D Focus
Malbari also indicated that GCPL’s in-house research and development capabilities would be leveraged aggressively to launch more products organically. M&A would be considered only if they were “value accretive” even as the company raises its bet in the D2C and digital space.
“We will get more aggressive in terms of aspiration and incubating and growing brands in-house. A lot of it has to be done organically. I personally believe that we have one of the strongest R&D departments. But I don’t think we are fully harnessing the power of R&D. There is work to be done on how we build that culture and create that rhythm in-house,” Malbari said.
The change in outlook comes after a mixed five-year transformation under Sitapati. GCPL simplified its portfolio and strengthened its international operations, while India’s underlying volume growth improved to 6% in FY26 from 4% in FY22. Cash flow also rose from Rs 1,500 crore in FY22 to Rs 2,500 crore in FY26. Yet overall shareholder returns remained modest, at 6.18% in terms of five-year stock-price CAGR.
While GCPL entered FY27 on a stronger footing, reporting an 18.3% y-o-y growth in consolidated revenue in Q1, a 11.5% y-o-y growth in net profit and 15.4% y-o-y growth in Ebitda as well as a 9% underlying volume growth during the quarter, sector analysts said this momentum would have to be sustained through the year.
Chairperson Nisaba Godrej was candid on the call: “We need to be accountable and to get to the market outperforming. We have put building blocks in place, but there is more to be done to get from good to great,” she said.
Sitapati’s tenure also saw GCPL expand through acquisitions. In April 2023, the company acquired Raymond Consumer Care for Rs 2,825 crore, adding brands including Park Avenue, KS and KamaSutra to its personal-care portfolio. In November 2025, it acquired digital-first men’s grooming brand Muuchstac from Trilogy Solutions for Rs 450 crore.