Mumbai: Marico, one of India’s leading consumer products companies, registered a Revenue from Operations growth by 10% YoY to Rs 8,048 cr. (USD 1.1 billion) backed by volume growth of 7% in the domestic business and constant currency growth of 7% in the international business.
EBITDA was at Rs 1,591 cr., up by 8% YoY, and PAT, excluding one-offs, was at Rs 1,162 cr., up by 11% YoY.
In Q4FY21, Revenue from Operations grew by 34% YoY to Rs 2,012 crores (USD 276 million), backed by robust volume growth of 25% in the domestic business and constant currency growth of 23% in the international business.
The Company witnessed strong momentum in each of the core portfolios of the Indian business while steadily strengthening its play in Foods through innovation. Rural continued to lead the way in traditional trade, growing at 1.8x of urban. Ec0m (now 8% of domestic business) and CSD also fared well, while Modern Trade dipped due to pantry loading in the base quarter.
Gross margin was down 517 bps owing to the severe input cost pressure, as pricing interventions in the core portfolios were not proportional to the inflation. Advertising & Sales Promotion grew by 35% YoY as the Company invested aggressively, mainly on core franchises and the Foods innovations.
EBITDA was up 13% YoY, as tight cost controls and operating leverage kicked in to reduce the impact on EBITDA margins to 300 bps. PAT excluding one-offs was up 17% YoY. Reported PAT was up 13%.
Saffola Honey has been scaling up faster than launch expectations. The brand exited FY21 just short of a double-digit market share in key Modern Trade chains and has garnered 25%+ market share in E-Commerce. The brand is on course to touch revenues of INR 100 cr. In the coming year. Expanding its presence in Foods, the Company launched Saffola Oodles, 5-minute ring-shaped noodles containing no refined flour and the goodness of whole grain oats, real vegetables and semolina.
The Company holds its medium-term aspiration of delivering 8-10% domestic volume growth and 13-15% revenue growth. The Company would be comfortable maintaining its threshold operating margin of 19% plus over the medium term.
Marico’s India Business delivered a turnover of Rs 1,574 crore (USD 216 million), up 37% on a YoY basis with underlying volume growth of 25%. The operating margin was lower YoY at 17.6% in Q4FY21 vs 22.8% in Q4FY20, owing to the input cost push, which was partly offset by pricing interventions in key portfolios and aggressive cost control initiatives that led to savings of more than Rs. 150 cr. on an annualised basis.
