Procter & Gamble sees double-digit sales growth in Indian market in Q1

The world’s largest consumer goods company Procter & Gamble (P&G) appears to be getting its mojo back in the Indian market after a few years of struggle. The January-March 2018 period saw the company deliver double-digit sales growth in India, said Jon Moeller, P&G’s vice-chairman and chief financial officer. 
 

The maker of Vicks, Oral-B and Whisper announced its first-quarter financial results on Thursday, a day when it also said that it was buying the consumer health care business of drugmaker Merck in a $4.2 billion deal. 

In India, P&G operates through two listed and one unlisted company, which together delivered a topline of nearly Rs 90 billion for the financial year 2016-17. Numbers for 2017-18 are yet to be declared. Some of its categories of operation include detergents, shampoos, feminine hygiene, male grooming, over-the-counter products and oral care.

Moeller said that India was the only other market apart from Turkey to deliver double-digit sales growth in the first quarter of 2018, led by an improved go-to-market strategy. “We are making sure that we have the right capability for this specific market (India) and that we have got superior consumer-preferred products. One of the biggest changes we’ve made is getting more latitude to the market; to adjust and communicate with the local consumer,” he said.

Moeller also said that India and China were two markets where it had evidence that it could win in tough market conditions and that this pace would accelerate going forward.

“The Indian market went through two big transitions last year, but it is stabilising now. India is also a very difficult market. But two of the biggest markets India and China are now starting to grow and this will improve as we go forward,” Moeller said. 

On Thursday, P&G’s archrival Unilever had also said that it had delivered strong Q1 sales growth in emerging markets, led by an uptick in volume growth.
 

Growth in India, Unilever said, was broad-based, led by price reductions in some categories and benefits of the goods and services tax, which were passed on to consumers. Growth in China, on the other hand, was driven by new product launches and strong e-commerce sales, it said.