Godrej Consumer To Increase Prices Of Soaps

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. will increase prices of soaps for the second straight quarter as input costs rise.

“We’ve seen a 35-40% increase in palm oil prices, which is a key raw material in soaps," Nisaba Godrej, chairperson and managing director of Godrej Consumer Products told BloombergQuint in an interview. "We certainly cannot pass the entire price increase to the consumer ... You will see some amount of calibrated price increases going forward also but on the whole, we will prioritise growth over margins going forward.”

Godrej did not disclose the extent of the planned price hike. The company had increased prices in the previous quarter as well.

The advantage from this upward swing in commodity prices is that smaller players and brands move out of the market and Godrej Consumer tends to gain market share through its micro-marketing initiatives, she said.

Godrej Consumer's larger peer Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the nation's biggest consumer goods maker, also increased prices of soaps by 2.5% in the previous quarter and plans to raise prices of cleansing products by another 2.5%.

Earnings Highlights

• Godrej Consumer saw its branded volumes grow 7% over a year earlier in the October-December quarter.

• Net profit of the maker of Cinthol soaps rose 13% over a year earlier to Rs 502 crore.

• Revenue jumped 10% to Rs 3,055.4 crore.

• Operating margin was stagnant at 22.7%.

Watch the full interview here: