FMCG major Dabur has closed the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) on a positive note, with steady revenue growth despite rising cost headwinds taking a toll on consumer purchases. Dabur’s India business reported revenue growth of 13.8%, while the international business ended the year with a 15.8% rise in constant currency revenue.

The consumer goods company clocked a consolidated net profit of ₹1,739.2 crore for the full financial year FY22, as compared to ₹1,693.3 crore in the previous fiscal, registering a growth of 2.7%.

The consolidated revenue for FY22 grew 14% year-on-year to cross the ₹10,000 crore landmark at ₹10,889 crore, driven by consistent demand for its products.

For the January-March quarter of FY22, the Burman family-owned company reported a 21.98% decline in consolidated net profit at ₹294.34 crore, as against ₹377.29 crore in the same period last year, Dabur India said in a BSE filing on May 5.

The consolidated revenue from operations rose 7.74% to ₹2,517.81 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022, as against ₹2,336.79 crore in the year-ago period.

"The dramatic rise in input costs was the major challenge during the quarter. We responded to this challenge with a mix of pricing actions and cost control measures. These are challenging times, and we are happy to have progressed well in this journey with consumer-centric innovations to expand our total addressable market and gain market share across 99% of our product portfolio,” says Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer, Dabur India.

Malhotra says that innovation continued to be the cornerstone of the company’s strategy with new launches contributing to 5% of its revenue.

Commenting on the full-year performance, Malhotra says, “The year 2021- 22 was a strong year for Dabur as we ended with an industry leading revenue growth of 13.8% in our India business, with an underlying FMCG volume growth of 10.1% for the full year. We also ended the year with 15.8% constant currency growth in the international business."

Segment-wise, Dabur's food & beverages business reported a 33.5% growth during the Jan-Mar quarter of 2022 with its juices and beverages business growing at 35%. The home care business, riding on a strong performance of air fresheners, ended the quarter with a 11% rise.

The health supplements business, backed by strong demand for flagship brands like Dabur Honey and Dabur Glucose, ended up 9.7% during Q4 FY22, while the OTC portfolio ended up 17%.

“Despite the consumption slowdown and shrinkage in overall demand, Dabur reported market share gains across 99% of its product portfolio. In juices and nectars, Dabur grew ahead of the category and improved its market share by 610 bps. Dabur also reported a 250 bps gain in its Chyawanprash market share and a 40 bps gain in shampoo market share during the quarter,” says the company.

Dabur’s international business gained 10.7% in constant currency terms in FY22, with Egypt and the Namaste business growing by 12% and 11%, respectively. Turkey business reported a strong operational performance with a 47% growth in local currency during the quarter despite high currency devaluation.

The company’s board has also recommended a final dividend of 270%, taking the total dividend for FY22 to 520%. "In line with our payout policy, the Board has proposed a dividend of ₹2.70 per share, aggregating to ₹477.32 crore," says Dabur India Group Director P. D. Narang.

Post the earnings announcement, Dabur shares closed Thursday’s trade at ₹529.20 apiece, down 1.55% on the BSE.

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