Dabur India Limited — Q1 FY25
Dabur India reported a steady Q1 FY25 with consolidated revenue growing 7% YoY in INR terms, driven by 5.2% volume growth in the domestic business.
✓ Verified against BSE filing
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
Disappointed with Badshah Masala 15% growth given distribution expansion and international opportunity?
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama
Management provided specific volume growth, margin improvement, and explained international decline due to supply chain constraints.
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Would you be a bit disappointed with the 15% growth, given you could have gained from the distribution expansion? Plus, in the international markets, the market leader had some of the market leaders had quality issues. So can you gain in the international markets because of this from a medium-term perspective?
In Badshah, I think the performance has been reasonably good. We've been sustaining a good performance for over a couple of quarters now. If you look at the volume growth in Badshah, it's around 16%, which is very high. ... Our gross margins have improved by 500 basis points in Badshah.
Is oral care double-digit growth a signal of FMCG revival? Meswak growth base effect or proactive steps?
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama
Management addressed both parts: explained strategy and market share gains, and linked oral care to broader rural recovery.
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So your specific question is, is this a signal that other categories for FMCG could also revive? ... And second is Meswak, last few years, I think has been lower growth clearly than Red toothpaste, but this quarter, it's much higher. So is this a base effect catch-up in Meswak, or is it that some proactive steps are really helping here?
Overall, I think strategy is playing out well. ... we are the number two player now in the market, ahead of our earlier number two player now, and the penetration is also significantly higher. ... Rural is rebounding, and our shampoo portfolio ... has also done very well in this quarter with 14% growth.
Does Dabur have Ayurvedic technology for premium toothpaste like whitening?
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama
Management confirmed capability and plans for premium products including whitening.
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So my specific question is, in Ayurveda, do you have that technology or the brand proposition which can be extended? And when you say you'll be coming out with premium products, which will be, will it specifically target this kind of a gap?
Ayurveda has the capability, and I think the technical know-how, which maybe the market leader may not have ... We are planning to roll that out. But the first one is the sensitive one, which is what we are working, Charcoal Toothpaste, which is what we have positioned it on whitening.
Is there a downtrend to lower-end hair oils? Will hair oil growth moderate?
Asked by Abneesh Roy, Nuvama
Management acknowledged competitive pressure but affirmed strategy and performance.
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So here, I wanted to understand, is there a big downtrending happening here to the lower end of the portfolio across the industry? ... So would you expect that hair oil, which has been a big challenge for all companies last few years, could see a more moderate growth coming back in the coming quarters?
Competitive intensity has really picked up in the hair oil business. ... Bajaj has become very, very aggressive in the coconut oil category now. ... Our strategy has played out well for us, and we are doing well in coconut oil.
Are demand trends accelerating? Is it category specific?
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL
Management provided sequential volume growth data and July update.
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In terms of the demand trends, what is it that you are seeing in the last 3-4 months? Is there an accelerating trend? If not, is it something category specific, etc.? Can you give some idea on that?
Quarter-on-quarter, since last three quarters, we've seen volume growth from 3% to 4% to now 5%. ... In the month of July also, we've not seen any flattening of volume growth. Volume growth is picking up.
Is demand recovery due to macro or company initiatives?
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL
Management attributed growth to both internal efforts and external tailwinds.
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Do you think that this increasing trend from 3 to 4 to 5 has got to do more with a macro demand recovery, or is it more to do with your own sort of initiatives that you might have taken?
I think Dabur team has done a substantially good job on ground and in execution. ... externally, there has been some tailwind on the rural recovery because all those efforts don't get catalyzed until you have a positive market environment.
How much of 3% innovation rate is incremental vs cannibalizing?
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL
Management explained that innovations target new categories, not cannibalization.
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This 3%, how much is actually incrementally adding to your top line and how much is basically driving excitement but sort of cannibalizing?
Our addressable market, total addressable market is only in the range of around 2%-3% of the overall FMCG. So there are a lot of white spaces which are there in the portfolio, which is what we are trying to plug with innovation. ... I don't think there's any cannibalization per se.
Why isn't Dabur gaining market share in oral care given market leader's price increases?
Asked by Percy Panthaki, IIFL
Management acknowledged opportunity and mentioned RGM study to address pricing gaps.
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With that price differential widening, you should probably, I mean, doesn't that matter to the consumer in any way? And shouldn't that result in a market share gain for you?
There is an opportunity. As I just told you, we just finished RGM activity with a very big consultant in India, and we have compared and contrasted our prices of all SKUs across the board with competitor. And any opportunity is that we will not lose, especially in oral care.
Can juices growth return to mid-teens despite weather and seasonality?
Asked by Mihir P. Shah, Nomura
Management provided sub-segment growth rates and explained nectar weakness due to cola price competition.
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In spite of seasonality going forward, how should one think about the growth in juices? Do you think it can come back to early to mid-teens growth, or do you think there is some other issue that is hampering its growth profile?
Our 100% juices active is growing by around 21%. ... Our nectar part of the portfolio is the one which is a little bit flagging. ... Our market share in the nectar market has gone up by 332 basis points.
Update on OTC and ethicals initiatives and growth outlook?
Asked by Mihir P. Shah, Nomura
Management provided update on doctor advocacy and growth rate.
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There were quite a few new initiatives and launches that were planned, including the doctor advocacy, etc., steps that were taken. Can you share any update on those initiatives? Are you revisiting any of them? And when should one expect growth to pick up in this category?
Doctor advocacy is progressing well, and Philipe is actually leading the charge here. ... As far as growth is concerned, we've got a growth of almost around 9%-10% in this therapeutics vertical and doing well.
Is rural growth due to low base or consumption improvement? What is ailing urban?
Asked by Mihir P. Shah, Nomura
Management discussed rural drivers and noted urban FMCG market decline.
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If you can talk a bit more on the rural growth, what changes are you seeing there? Is the growth looking better because of the low base, or are you seeing some consumption improving post the rabi harvest? ... And a subpart to it is, what do you think is the issue with urban? Why is it ailing?
Rural is coming back. ... There's a deflation of around 2% that we've seen in the quarter. ... Overall, FMCG market continues to go down. So we have seen a sequential decline from 12 to 9 to 6 to 4, while rural is showing some sort of recovery.
Is Real losing market share in nectars to Tropicana despite Nielsen showing gains?
Asked by Jaykumar Doshi, Kotak
Management provided specific market share data from syndicated sources.
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I was just wondering that, are you losing market share? Is Real in the nectars segment losing market share to Tropicana? Maybe it's not reflecting in Nielsen as yet.
Tropicana should be 19.3. Now it's 17.3, 300 basis points lower. Minute Maid is down by around 100 basis points. And Real is up by around 330. And B- Natural is down by 280 basis points. It's all syndicated data.
| Claim | Management said | Filing | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Badshah value growth is 15% | 15% | 7% | Overstated vs filing |
| Gross margins improved by 500 bps in Badshah | 500 bps | 30 bps | Overstated vs filing |
| Gross margin improvement of 120 bps | 120 bps | 30 bps | Overstated vs filing |
| Oral care volume growth 8%, price growth 3%, total 11% | 11% | 7% | Overstated vs filing |
Filed figures sourced from Screener.in. Claims within a small tolerance of the filing are marked “matches filing”.