Pidilite bets on grassroots demand, rural strength, and innovation to fuel double-digit growth

Pidilite Industries’ managing director Sudhansu Vats said the company’s strategy of generating demand from the grassroots and widening its product portfolio helped it deliver double-digit volume growth in the September quarter, even amid unpredictable weather and weak macro conditions.

“We’ve delivered a 10.3% underlying volume growth this quarter—10.4% in Consumer & Bazaar and 9.9% in B2B,” Vats said while addressing the media after the results. “This is the first clear double-digit underlying volume growth for our Consumer & Bazaar business in the last six quarters, so we are very pleased with the outcome.”

The adhesives and construction chemical major reported standalone revenue of ₹3,272 crore, up 10.4% year-on-year, and profit after tax of ₹586 crore, up 8.1%. On a consolidated basis, revenue stood at ₹3,540 crore, while EBITDA margin remained steady at 24%, which Vats described as “at the higher end of our corridor of 20–24%.”

Vats said the company’s wide and deep portfolio, along with a strong on-ground presence, cushioned it from external headwinds such as extended monsoons and tariff-led export disruptions. “Our portfolio is getting wider from a category point of view and deeper from the socioeconomic class we address. We are moving both up and down quite interestingly,” he said. “We generate demand through a dedicated sales force at the grassroots. That’s what makes us less affected by environmental factors compared to some of the others.”

Pidilite’s rural sales continued to outpace urban markets, a trend that has held steady for several quarters. “Our rural growth continues to outgrow urban, but this quarter we’ve had very good urban growth as well,” Vats said, adding that rural sales were about 100–150 basis points higher.

The company also leaned on innovation and premiumisation to drive growth. Vats highlighted two key launches this quarter: the Fevikwik Professional range, aimed at specialised applications such as woodworking, signage, and tiling, and a new premium tile adhesive line under the ROFF brand, called NeoPro. “These new ranges allow us to address multiple applications more precisely and cater to professional users,” he said.

Pidilite’s digital-first campaigns, too, are paying off. Its Fevikwik AI pack initiative generated over 9 lakh pieces of user-generated content and 350 million views online.

Looking ahead, Vats remains cautiously optimistic. “The domestic operating environment should improve, aided by favourable monsoons and accelerated construction growth. But we’ll stay vigilant to geopolitical developments and global tariff uncertainties,” he said.