Marico eyes beauty, wellness segment in emerging mkts

FMCG firm Marico which posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 85 crore for the June quarter today said it was tapping business opportunities in the beauty and wellness segment in the emerging nations.

"We are interested in expanding our footprint in the beauty and wellness segment in developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa. We believe this segment will grow significantly in future," Marico CEO (Consumer Products Business) Saugata Gupta said.

The FMCG firm today posted a 15.28% rise to Rs 85 crore in its consolidated net profit compared to Rs 73.73 crore in the same quarter in 2010.

During the period under review, the firm's net sales rose 33.17% at Rs 1,048.61 crore from Rs 787.40 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

"We performed well mainly due to healthy sales growth across all our franchise business and the acquisitions we made in the last one year," Gupta said.

Despite the positive growth in profit and revenue, the company's margin declined during the quarter due to a surge in input cost of raw materials, especially in the segment of hair oils, he said, adding the FMCG firm was aiming for double digit volume growth in FY12.

"The company has chosen a temporary contraction in operating margins to ensure long-term growth," added Gupta.

Marico is also planning to enter into health food segment in the country this fiscal.

"We are planning to test market products in the health food segment in a couple of months and launch them during this fiscal," he said.

The FMCG company is also planning to expand its portfolio in Bangladesh in FY12, the CEO added.

Shares of Marico today closed at Rs 166.50, up 6.42% on the Bombay Stock Exchange.