Marico Ltd. intends to prioritise volumes over margin, and focus on market share gains as demand recovers after the nation began to lift lockdown curbs.
“We are on a good momentum and expect volume growth in the teens even in quarter four. Our entire focus is to drive volume growth and market share and we are okay with taking a slight margin hit. We have to cope with it [higher raw material costs] over the next couple of weeks,” Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive officer at the maker of blue-bottled Parachute coconut hair oil, told BloombergQuint in an interview.
The company, he said, has significantly driven a cost management programe, and this year it has accrued Rs 200 crore savings in the business.
Marico posted a 15% volume growth in its India business during the quarter ended December. Its operating margin stood at 19.5% compared with 20.4% a year ago.
- Revenue rose 16% over the year earlier to Rs 2,122 crore
- Net profit increased 13% at Rs 312 crore.
Marico’s peer Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the country’s largest consumer goods maker, reported a 4% volume growth in the reported quarter. Its net profit and revenue also rose.
Watch the full interview here: