Hit by Covid-19 pandemic, Emami Q4 pre-tax profit dips 81.7% to Rs 15.38 cr

This is one of the steepest declines in the firm's near-50-year history; Revenue down 16.81% to Rs 532.68 cr

Emami’s profit before tax (PBT) for the quarter ended March plummeted 81.70 per cent to Rs 15.38 crore because of a severe Covid-19 pandemic-led demand crunch in an already muted environment. It posted a 16.81 per cent decline in its revenue at Rs 532.68 crore during the quarter, against Rs 640.35 crore in the year-ago period.

This decline in PBT is one of the steepest the company has registered since its formation in 1974,. After an adjustment of Rs 15.29 crore of deferred tax, its net profit in the period under review stood at Rs 22.75 crore, registering a fall of 59.44 per cent over the year-ago period.

“FY20 has been one of the most challenging years for the company. The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic brought about an environment where lives were at stake, which led to the already existing soft consumption trends to almost nil,” Mohan Goenka, director at Emami said.

Before declaring its results, Emami had hinted at muted results for the Q4 period.   According to Emami, the business environment that was already facing challenges from weak consumption trends and liquidity concerns was further impacted severely by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company said the pandemic led the consumer shift towards more essential items like food, groceries, and hygiene products, affecting its summer portfolio which comprises 45 per cent of its sales.

“Current consumer trends that we believe is here to stay indicate that categories like personal hygiene and natural health care products for boosting immunity and other wellness products are very clear preferences of the consumers today,” Harsha V Agarwal, director at Emami said.

To stave off the business impact of the pandemic, Emami, like its peers, tied up with home delivery partners such as Swiggy, Zomato, and WOW Momo. It also forayed into the hand sanitizer category with the BoroPlus brand and launched an Ayurvedic hand sanitizer under the Zandu brand. It recently expanded BoroPlus range of hygiene products to antiseptic and moisturizing soaps and handwashes in two variants.  

Despite the Covid impact, Emami said its power brands increased the market shares in both domestic and International markets. In the domestic business, Kesh King grew its volume market share by 140 bps at 26.6 per cent, while balms category grew by 130 bps at 54.9 per cent. In the antiseptic creams space, BoroPlus grew by 30bps at 74.1 per cent and ayurvedic cool hair oil Navratna, grew by 10 bps at 66.4 per cent.