FMCG major Dabur Q2 net profit up 5% at Rs 357 crore

Dabur India stock was trading 2.9% up at Rs 292.7 on BSE

Homegrown fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Dabur India on Wednesday reported 5 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 357.3 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016-17.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 340.20 crore in the same period of last financial year, 2015-16, Dabur India said in a statement.

Its revenue for the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,975.7 crore, as against Rs 1,955.3 crore in the year-ago period, up 1 per cent.

Dabur India CEO Sunil Duggal said, "The overall business environment continued to be challenging with consumer demand remaining slack in India while overseas geographies like the Middle East and Africa hit by worsening geopolitical situation."

The company continued to invest behind its brands and is confident of ability to report profitable growth, going forward, he said.

"Even in a tough environment, we have navigated the external business environment well and our domestic FMCG business ended Q2 of 2016-17 with a volume growth of 4.5 per cent," Duggal said.

In terms of category, the home care business grew by around 20 per cent led by strong demand for the mosquito repellent brand Odomos and air freshener brand Odonil, the company said.

The Foods business reported over 15 per cent growth during the quarter, while the skin care business ended the quarter with near 7 per cent growth.

On the outlook, he said: "The medium to long-term prospects, particularly for India, remain robust and we are optimistic that domestic consumer demand would gain pace in months to come, riding on good monsoons and a slew of government initiatives announced recently."

Reiterating the company's focused strategy and positioning as the 'Science-based Ayurveda' specialist, he said it will pave the way for future growth.

"We have lined up a flurry of many exciting initiatives and are committed to aggressively launch new products leveraging on our Ayurvedic heritage and cutting edge science," Duggal added.

The Board of Directors of Dabur India declared an interim dividend of 125 per cent for 2016-17.

"Continuing with our payout policy, the Board has declared an interim dividend of Re 1.25 per share, aggregating to a total payout of Rs 265.01 crore, including tax," Dabur India Chairman Anand Burman said.

Dabur India stock was trading 2.90 per cent up at Rs 292.7 on BSE.