Godrej Consumer shares jump 8% to record high post Q4

Shares of fast moving consumer goods major Godrej Consumer Products jumped as much as 8% in intraday trade on Tuesday to hit a record high of ₹1,349 on the BSE.

This comes after the FMCG company reported a 6% year-on-year rise in revenue at ₹3,386 crore and ₹1,893-crore loss for the quarter ended March. Godrej Consumer reported a one-time exceptional loss of ₹2,378 crore on account of restructuring of its Africa business. Net profit without the exceptional and one-off items grew 22% to ₹574 crore during the fourth quarter. EBITDA margin came in at 22.5%.

Reacting to the development, the FMCG stock opened ₹1,267.80 against its previous closing price of ₹1,250.75. Shares of the Good Night and Hit mosquito repellent maker touched an all-time high of ₹1,349.65 on the BSE, taking the company’s market cap to ₹1.35 lakh crore.

The company’s consolidated volumes grew 12% in Q4 FY24. India business volume jumped 15% while Indonesia business volumes rose 12%.

“Our organic consolidated volume growth has been 9% and organic sales growth has been 4% (28% constant currency sales growth). Sales growth is lagging behind volume growth due to currency fluctuations in Africa and low soap prices in India,” the FMCG major says in a regulatory filing.

“Household insecticides category had a poor quarter due to an extended winter in North and parts of East. However, we had a strong performance driven by high single digit volume growth in Personal Wash and double-digit volume growth in Hair Colors, Air Freshners, Fabric Care, etc. Incense Sticks launch has been extremely encouraging so far,” it says.

The Cinthol soap maker has launched Cinthol bodywash in select markets in India in April priced at ₹120. This product is aimed at the fast-growing segment of Bodywash that is currently ₹700 crore and growing at more than 20% per annum.

“Indonesia had a very strong quarter with volume growth of 12% and EBITDA growth of 34%. This has been driven by continuing good performance on Household Insecticides but also a benefit of the Lebaran season shifting to Q4. We are launching Stella Electric Diffuser in Indonesia at IDR 35,000. This product is aimed at rapidly expanding the penetration of the Air Freshener category,” it says.

GAUM (Godrej Africa, US, and Middle East) volumes grew at 2%. “We are happy to report that there will be a positive impact on PAT of ₹50 crore per annum despite the negative impact on revenue of ₹470 crore per annum. We have taken an exceptional accounting charge of ₹2,378 crore in our consolidated P&L statement. The impact of this charge is cash positive (NPV of ₹200 crore),” the filing says.