Recovery in rural India, market share key for Colgate-Palmolive growth

Management optimistic about growth as stock valuation stays unchanged for India's largest oral care company

The July-September quarter results of the country’s largest oral care company, Colgate-Palmolive (India), was marginally below Street estimates on the revenue front, while its margin performance came up rather short.

The consumer products company reported 2.6 per cent growth year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,378 crore; this was up 15.9 per cent on a sequential basis.

Most analysts had pegged their estimates closer to the Rs 1,400-crore mark and believed the company had possibly witnessed a volume decline of 1-2 per cent in the quarter on account of rural slackening and inflationary strain.

The company, however, indicated its sales are on