Dabur India delivered steady September Quarter 2023 results supported by stable growth in healthcare and home & personal care business. Volume growth came in at 3% YoY in Q2FY24. With Badshah business, volume growth stood at 5.8% YoY in September Quarter 2023. Rural India, though with visible green shoots, is still not in the pink of health. Rural India accounts for nearly 35-40% of Dabur business. According to the management, while North India is stable, rural south India is witnessing credit extensions and slower growth due to lower rainfall. But with retail inflation dipping below 5% and government spending increasing before general elections, rural India volume growth is expected to pick up benefitting FMCG sector as a whole.
Steady and stable September Quarter 2023
Dabur India reported revenues of Rs 3,204 crore in Q2FY24 against Rs 3,110 crore in the same period previous year, a rise of 7.3% YoY. Stable revenue growth was supported by digestives, OTC, ethicals and home care segments in healthcare and home & personal care businesses.
Operating margin came in at 20.63% in Q2FY24 expanding 50 basis points (bps) YoY driven by deflation in commodities. Speaking on margins, Mohit Mahotra, CEO at Dabur India said “This deflation trend will continue and margin upside on gross margin will, again, keep trending up in the second half of FY24 also.”
With Brent crude prices falling to $80 levels, margins are expected to improve further for Dabur India in Q3FY24. Net profit came in at Rs 515 crore in Q2FY24 compared to Rs 490 crore in the same period previous year, rising 5% YoY.
Odonil and Odomos Support Homecare Growth
Home Care revenue grew 15% YoY in Q2FY24 supported by a strong double-digit growth in Odonil and Odomos brands. The mosquito repellent category witnessed a strong uptick of 556 bps in market share, taking Odomos market share to 65% in India. Penetration of Home Care category is low in India, said Malhotra. Speaking on air freshener portfolio, he further added that the category is growing at 20% growth rate. Dabur’s air freshener portfolio with leading brand Odonil gained 164 bps in market share in Q2FY24. According to the management, air freshener category has low competitive intensity and is margin accretive for Dabur India.
In the oral care segment, Dabur Red franchise grew at a high single digit and the recent introduction of Dabur Red Bae Fresh gel is also showing good traction. Dabur Red Bae Fresh Gel presently has a turnover of Rs 25 crore. Dabur’s market share in the toothpaste category gained 20 basis points. Hair Care category recorded a high single-digit growth with Hair Oil market share improved by 143 bps extending its market share to 17%.
Chyawanprash sales to recover in Q3FY24
The Healthcare business recorded revenue growth of 5.4% YoY. Dabur’s healthcare business comprises health supplements (Chyawanprash and Honey), digestives and OTC and Ethicals. Digestive category witnessed revenue growth of 18% YoY driven by the Hajmola franchise. OTC portfolio witnessed 8.4% YoY growth driven by Lal Tail, Honitus and Dabur Health juices.
Speaking on Ethical category, Malhotra said, “Ethical portfolio recorded an 8% growth in the quarter. Our recent initiative of setting up a Therapeutics division is doing well, and we saw baby care sales double and the Therapeutics division recording a double-digit growth.” In the health supplement category, Chyawanprash sales fell 7% YoY and second largest healthcare brand, Dabur Honey sales grew 6-7% YoY in Q2FY24. Speaking on lower Chyawanprash growth, Malhotra said, “Lower growth was due to the festive season shifting by 20 days to November, Chyawanprash loading could not happen as it happened in the previous years. So as the festive season shifted and the winters also got shifted, I think it should get covered up in Q3FY24.” But to get high single digit or double-digit revenue growth in the healthcare segment, power brands Chyawanprash and Dabur Honey need to fire up.
Food portfolio reports strong growth, beverages falter
Dabur’s beverage business saw a 10% YoY revenue fall, and the food business under the homemade brand performed well with a growth of 40% YoY in Q2FY24. Strong growth in the food portfolio was supported by the Badshah acquisition, which saw high-teens growth in Q2FY24. Despite the high inflation in spices, Dabur expects to exit the year with a run rate of Rs 500 crores coming from its foods portfolio.
The beverage portfolio on the other hand was impacted by uneven distribution of rainfall, especially in North India which accounts 50% of Dabur’s beverage business. Malhotra said, “The business got impacted in the month of July, and we could not cover that up in the month of August where rainfall was lower. But in September, again, the rains kind of caught up and therefore, the loading and the supply chain got impacted.” Thus with dual impact of unseasonal rains and the festive season shifting by 20 days to December Quarter 2023, the beverage category witnessed lower growth. In addition to this, high competitive intensity due to new player Storia (coconut water) also affected sales in Q2FY24. The FMCG sector is betting on festive cheer to spur volume growth in Q3FY24, the next quarter number will give a better picture.
