Emami's growth plans set to hit a weather bump
But summer, typically a good quarter for Emami, has started on a patchy note. April and May brought unseasonal rains, denting demand for core summer products such as talc powders, especially in the weather-sensitive southern and eastern states; although oils fared slightly better.
Still, the March quarter (Q4FY25) wasn't a washout with consolidated sales up 8% year-on-year to ₹960 crore. Domestic net sales were up 9% and volume by 5%. Rural India held up, while urban demand stayed sluggish. Modern trade, e-commerce, and institutional sales, now contributing about 29% of its domestic revenue, grew steadily by 10%.
Also Read: JSW Energy's expected Ebitda growth to be fueled by debt binge
Within the core domestic portfolio, BoroPlus surged 27%, helped by an extended winter. Navratna and Dermicool together clocked a 16% rise,Zandu Care grew over 50%, now with half its revenue coming from new launches in the past two years. Even 'Smart and Handsome', newly rebranded, finally reversed its slide, growing 7%. International, too, bounced back, growing 6% in Q4 after a rough Q3.
Buoyed by momentum, after 25+ launches in FY25, FY26 will see more, especially in male grooming, healthcare, and skin brightening. In Q4FY25, the company entered into the skinbrightening category with the launch of Emami Pure Glow.
Pain persists
But cracks remain. Pain management was flattish in Q4FY25 and even FY25. Kesh King declined 9% in FY25, with a BCG-led strategy to be rolled out in Q2FY26. The Man Company and Brillare, Emami's direct-to-consumer brands, clocked a revenue of ₹200 crore in FY25 but remain loss-making. The management expects strong double-digit sales growth from these businesses in FY26.
Also Read: Tata Power's solar cell plant fuels Q4 earnings, sets stage for FY26 growth
Gross margin was up slightly by 11 basis points (bps) on-year to 65.9% in Q4FY25, helped by benign commodity prices and pricing actions. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 4%, accompanied by a 90bps drop in margin to 22.8%. One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.
Benign raw material prices should act as a cushion to margin, although how demand pans out is crucial.
'Valuation appears attractive at 30x 1-year forward earnings per share (EPS). However, consistency in revenue trend is a must for a sustained re-rating of the stock to the sector average," said analysts from Jefferies India in a report on 16 May.Emami's brand ambitions are looking brighter, but FY26 is off to a cautious start.
Also Read: Are Muthoot Finance investors worried about falling gold prices?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Rs 50,000-cr worth GST compensation, Rs 8,000 cr under RDF pending: Punjab Finance Minister slams Centre
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema on Thursday hit out at the central government for not releasing Punjab's share of GST compensation worth Rs 50,000 crore besides withholding Rs 8,000 crore under the Rural Development Fund (RDF). Cheema made the remarks while talking to the media in Delhi as he went to attend the GST Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting. He said that GST had inflicted a Rs 1.11 lakh crore loss on Punjab, with the Centre releasing only Rs 60,000 crore so far, while over Rs 50,000 crore and an additional Rs 8,000 crore under the RDF remained withheld. Slamming the GST, the Punjab Finance Minister stressed that the state would not have suffered such massive revenue losses had it not joined the 'One Nation-One Tax' scheme and in fact it would have received much more revenue. With the compensation cess now scrapped, he called out the BJP government for deliberately wrecking state economies to make them beg before the Centre. 'We honoured the central government's decision (on GST) and stood with the country, but Punjab suffered for it. Along with Punjab, many other states also suffered.' 'On August 20–21, the GoM met continuously for two days. On Wednesday, the meeting was on life and health insurance. In the evening, a meeting was held on compensation cess. The Chairman told us that today the meeting was on rate rationalisation, and that all members of the compensation cess would participate. Therefore, we also participated in Thursday's meeting,' he said. 'GST was implemented in 2017. In the past eight years, there have been 27 amendments in GST, with exemptions given to different sectors. Fifteen times the GST rates of various goods were reduced. This practice has been continuing in the GST Council for the last eight years, and for the past three years I have been witnessing it myself.' Cheema also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier declared that there would be two GST slabs — one at 5 per cent and another at 12 per cent — and that 'everyone would celebrate Diwali'. 'But after the GST came, who will compensate for the loss suffered by Punjab and other states? Who will pay for this damage? One Nation, One Tax was the scheme of the central government, and all states including Punjab gave their consent. Everyone agreed that uniform tax rates should prevail across the country so that no state could impose higher or lower taxes on its citizens. But this formula has inflicted a huge loss on Punjab.' Emphasising on Punjab's loss, the Finance Minister said, 'In all three meetings of the GST Group of Ministers, I placed Punjab's position. So far, Punjab has lost Rs 1,11,045 crore. Out of this, the central government has given Rs 60,000 crore compensation, but still Rs 50,000 crore remains with the central government. Who will pay this money?' Cheema also said ever since the GST has been introduced, the BJP-led central government has kept making one amendment after another, but never reached a conclusion. 'Taxpayers of the country are being harassed continuously. The system of the country is being destroyed. Several states are continuously losing revenue due to the GST system. The central government has backed away from making up for this loss.' Detailing the latest discussions, Cheema said, 'In Thursday's meeting on compensation cess, the government said that the loans taken to pay states under compensation cess would be fully repaid by October. On harmful goods (sin goods), a special tax was imposed. The states suffering losses in its collection were being compensated. But now the report of the rate rationalisation committee shows that even the tax slab on sin goods is being reduced.' The Finance Minister also claimed that two days ago, another Rs 1,000 crore under the Prime Minister Road Scheme was also stopped. 'In this way, nearly Rs 60,000 crore is pending with the central government against Punjab. This includes the Rs 50,000-crore revenue loss (Punjab faced) after the (implementation of) GST. The central government must immediately release Rs 60,000 crore,' he concluded.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Panel holds votes to choose VCs at 15 state universities
Kolkata: In a first, the search committee, formed to select permanent vice-chancellors at 15 state universities, conducted votes to choose the candidates from the shortlist of VC-aspirants. The voting system was introduced as VC selection for 17 state universities was stalled midway amid lack of unanimity on candidates' names. The process restarted on Tuesday for 15 universities with a final round of interviews of three candidates for each. The three-day exercise concluded on Thursday, when 18 shortlisted candidates for six universities appeared before the ex-CJI U U Lalit-led five-member committee, appointed by the Supreme Court. The six universities, which featured on Thursday's list, were Raiganj University, Sanskrit College and University, Diamond Harbour Women's University, Gour Banga University, Harichand Guruchand University and Kazi Nazrul University. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata At the end of the exercise, an official said a former Calcutta University VC emerged as a forerunner to head the varsity. For JU, the former interim VC received fewer votes than a competitor. The interim VC at Makaut received the highest number of votes, more than the two other shortlisted candidates for the institute. Given the results, the three shortlisted names for the universities were altered. The committee will submit 15 names for VCs at 15 universities to the SC for finalisation. Though VCs were supposed to be selected for 17 universities, the SC has already appointed Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee as the RBU VC and Sanchari Mukhodadhyay's name has been recommended for Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University, though Raj Bhavan has not yet issued her a letter. West Bengal State University was not included in this phase. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
RBI issues discussion paper on inflation targeting framework ahead of next March review
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has come out with a discussion paper on the forthcoming review of its flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework, scheduled for next March, seeking to examine the past nine years of inflation targeting experience, considering global experiences and emerging economic risks. The central bank has invited comments from the public and all other stakeholders by September 18, 2025 for the review, which is mandated by law. The flexible inflation targeting framework currently mandates the RBI-led Monetary Policy Committee to keep consumer prices-based inflation under check at 4% with a 2% margin either way. The framework was given statutory backing in May 2016 through amendments to the RBI Act, 1934. Under this, if the RBI misses the target for three consecutive quarters, the governor who chairs the MPC has to write to the government explaining the reasons for the misses and, if deemed necessary, will also have to appear before the relevant Parliamentary panel. It missed the target only once during the pandemic, and the then governor Shaktikanta Das had to write to the government but did not appear before the Parliamentary panel. According to the amended Section 45ZA, the government, in consultation with the RBI, is required to set a retail inflation target every five years. The target, first notified in August 2016 for 2016–21, was retained in March 2021 till March 2026.
