Tag - consumer

31 Mar

Travel returning to pre-pandemic levels – VIP Industries


Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Thursday, NIFTY settled at 17,465 (-0.2%) near the day’s high of 17,334. FMCG (+1.2%), MEDIA (+0.8%), and PRIVATE BANK (+0.3%) were the top sectoral gainers. HEALTHCARE (-1.3%), PHARMA (-1.2%), and PSU BANK (-0.8%) led the sectoral losers. Among the NIFTY50 components, JSWSTEEL         (+2.2%), M&M (+2.1%), and BRITANNIA (+2.0%) led the gainers. HINDALCO (-4.8%), DIVISLAB (-2.5%), and APOLLOHOSP (-2.0%) led the losers.

Travel returning to pre-pandemic levels – VIP Industries

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Dilip Piramal, Chairman, VIP INDUSTRIES (VIP) with CNBC-TV18 on 29th March 2022:

  • Demand has been good since Q3FY22, but it was still 8% lower than pre-pandemic levels. The company expects a significant bounce back in Q1FY23 owing to the lifting of COVID-19 induced international travel restrictions ending. There are signs of pent-up demand and revenge travel.
  • Marriages have been subdued due to COVID-19 which is now getting into full swing ahead of the wedding season. Another driver for volume growth for the company is that educational institutions have been opening up after almost 2 years, which has boded well for the backpacks segment.
  • 60% of the previous raw material supplies of the company earlier used to come from China, which has now come down to around 10%. The company is increasingly sourcing key raw materials for soft luggage from Bangladesh fulfilling about 50% of the requirement.
  • The demand for hard luggage is picking up and the company has enough in-house capacity in Sinnar, to provide for the increasing demand, it expects Q1FY23 to be a bumper quarter owing to seasonality. However, the company is wary about supply-side issues that are prevalent currently.
  • Margins have been topsy-turvy over the past year. Raw material cost escalation from China, as it is the largest supplier of the key raw materials to VIP’s suppliers, freight and logistics costs are at an all-time high, so it’s difficult for the management to give EBITDA margin guidance. However, it is targeting the margins to be in the mid-teens.
  • The company has taken a price hike in Q4FY22 of 5% over Q3FY22, following a price hike in October-21. As the input cost inflation persists due to extreme fluctuations in the pricing it’s difficult to take calibrated price hikes.
  • The company has currently a market share of 47%, the company has an aspirational target of crossing Rs. 20 bn in sales with mid-teen EBITDA Margins and increasing the market share to 50%.

Asset Multiplier Comments

  • Luggage being a proxy play to the travel & tourism industry was among the worst impacted sectors owing to pandemic in FY21, FY22. With school and offices re opening, travel resuming and wedding season around the corner we see demand visible. VIP Industries is well positioned to tap this opportunity due to increased movement of leisure and business tourist both domestically and internationally..
  • Strong manufacturing capabilities in Bangladesh (for soft luggage) gives VIP an edge over its peers. By reducing dependence on China and sourcing from Bangladesh, we expect VIP to be able to manage margin pressures effectively.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of VIP was ₹ 745/- as of 31-March-2022. It traded at 57x/ 41x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 13/ 18/- per share for FY23E/FY24E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 705/- implies a P/E Multiple of 39x on the FY24E EPS estimate of ₹ 18/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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03 Aug

Volume recovery on cards, Margins to improve in H2FY22: Marico

Update on Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, markets ended higher with Nifty closing 246 points to close at 16,130. TITAN (+4.0%), HDFC (+3.8%), and INDUSINDBK (+3.5%) were the top gainers on the index while JSWSTEEL (-0.8%), SHREECEM (-0.3%), and BAJAJ-AUTO (-0.3%) were the top losers for the day. Among the sectoral indices,  FMCG (1.7%), FINANCIAL SERVICES (1.7%), and AUTO (1.6%) were the top gainers, while MEDIA (-0.8%), METAL (-0.1%) were the only losers.

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, Marico on CNBCTV18 dated 2nd August 2021:

  • 1QFY22 began with the momentum that was handed over from the last quarter of FY21. May sales were affected due to the 2nd wave of lockdown. Recovery was seen in June, and supply-side issues are slowly improving.
  • Growth rates are improving drastically in the South, which is the company’s stronghold. Barring major disruptions, the company expects to deliver 8-10% volume growth.
  • Gross margins declined both sequentially and YoY. This was due to raw material costs pressure, both in copra and vegetable oil-based products. The company took price hikes which resulted in less pressure on margins.
  • The company expects Copra prices to come down and some deflationary easing on margins and hopes to record 19%+ margins for the rest of the year. 
  • The company makes lower gross margins in the food business and expects margins to improve with scale. The company expects volumes to grow in soya, honey and oodles, and add around 100 crores to the top line.
  • The company’s focus is to add volume growth and expects margins to grow with scale. However, the company expects more product diversification over the next 4-5 years.

 

Asset Multiplier Comments:

  • The food and FMCG Industry has adapted to the pandemic imposed changes. Despite the pandemic, the volumes have improved and may recover sharply soon with further unlocking. With expanding product portfolio, the growth rates may be significantly higher.
  • Marico has an established portfolio and brand awareness with consumers which it can leverage to expand volumes to grow further and deliver value to shareholders.

 

Consensus Estimates (Source: market screener website): 

  • The closing price of Marico was ₹544/- as of 03-August-2021.  It traded at 54x/45x the EPS estimate of ₹10/₹ 12 for FY22E/23E.
  • The consensus price target is ₹ 560/- which trades at 47x the EPS estimate for FY23E of ₹ 12/-

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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27 Jul

Recovery seen in June, growth momentum ahead – SBI Cards

Update on Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, markets ended lower with Nifty closing at 15,746 (-0.5%). HINDALCO (+4.3%), SBILIFE (+3.2%), and TATASTEEL (+2.7%) were the top gainers on the index while DRREDDY (-10.3%), CIPLA (-3.5%) and AXISBANK (-3.3%) were the top losers for the day. Among the sectoral indices, METAL (+1.5%) and PSU BANK (+0.4%) were the gainers, while PHARMA (-4.3%), PRIVATE BANK (-0.9%) and REALTY (-0.7%) were the top losers.

 

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Rama Mohan Rao Amara, MD & CEO, SBI Cards on CNBCTV18 dated 26th July 2021:

 

  • The Company suffered stress from the 3rd week of April till mid-June. Reduction of lockdown restrictions provided the push for the company to ramp up sales and sourcing, and July shows further signs of progress.
  • The company’s New Account Acquisition in the first quarter was lower due to the lockdown effect, however, the company has achieved its run rate of 3,00,000 card issuance per month.
  • Consumer sentiment and discretionary spending are coming back to pre-pandemic levels. The company is optimistic about further growth in sourcing, which is mostly done through bankers, which was affected due to lockdown.
  • Average monthly spending per card was at Rs 11,000 but it’s slowly inching up to indicate increased levels of discretionary spending and rebounding of economic activity in July. The company expects it to grow to Rs 13,000-13,500 levels barring any major disruptions.
  • Recovery is seen in both distribution channels- Bankers and Open Market distributions. With the opening up of the economy further, the company expects to grow from its minimum run rate of 3,00,000 card issues per month by leveraging multi-channel partnerships that the company has developed.
  • 52-53% of FY21 sourcing was done through banker channels which leverages its presence in tier 3, tier 4 towns, and rural areas, indicative of an increased digital penetration in rural areas.
  • Expansion of E-commerce and other online platforms into rural areas has seen a shift to digital transactions across rural areas, which has helped the company tap into its existing banking customer base, which also helps the company keep a track of its delinquencies.
  • The impact of the entire Mastercard ban accounts for less than 2% of monthly sourcing for the company, so the company has little risk. Even so, the company is proactively negotiating with its partners to mitigate the effects.

Asset Multiplier Comments:

  • Credit Cards Industry in India, is in its nascent stages of penetration, and there’s tremendous growth potential with digital penetration in Indian Rural Markets a thrust area for everyone.
  • SBI Cards can leverage the SBI Brand and its penetration across India to unlock growth potential that can rarely be done so easily by any other of its competitors.

 

Consensus Estimates (Source: market screener website): 

  • The closing price of SBI Cards was ₹ 1,017/- as of 27-July-2021.  It traded at 54x/38x the EPS estimate of ₹19/₹ 27 for FY22E/23E.
  • The consensus price target of ₹ 1,184/- implies a 44x PE multiple for FY23E EPS of ₹ 27/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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26 May

Confident of double-digit growth in FY22 on pent-up demand – Emami

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

Domestic markets started cautiously positive and witnessed a strong rebound as it gained momentum from expectations of another set of relief measures. The new stimulus package is expected to focus on boosting the worst-hit sectors like tourism, aviation and hospitality along with MSMEs. Nifty ended above 15,300 as value buying was seen in the IT sector while Metals stocks remained in the correction phase due to muted international commodity prices.
Among the sectoral indices, REALTY (+2.8%), MEDIA (+1.9%), and IT (+1.8%) were top gainers while METAL (-1.9%), and PSU BANK(-0.3%) were among the top losers. Among the stocks, BAJAJFINSV (+4.6%), BAJFINANCE (+2.7%), and INFY (+2.5%) were the top gainers. POWERGRID (-3.0%), HINDALCO (-2.5%), and JSWSTEEL (-2.4%) were the top losers.

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr. Mohan Goenka, Director, Emami with CNBC TV18 dated 26th May, 2021:

• Emami reported good Q4 earnings on a favourable base with 39% volume growth in domestic business. Director, Mohan Goenka says he’s confident of double-digit growth in FY22 on pent-up demand. He added their promoter pledge is at 30% & they will reduce it to 15% in the next 1 year.
• Revenue was over Rs 9000 mn in 3QFY21 v/s ~Rs 7300 mn in 4QFY21. But these numbers are not comparable on QoQ basis due seasonality in business. Emami has shown a decent growth in 2 years horizon and when compared to 4QFY19 the growth is robust.
• All categories like Zandu Balm, Kesh King, Men’s grooming products and Menthoplus has grown much better in 4QFY21 over 3QFY21.
• 40-45% of the sales comes from the winter portfolio.
• Emami started with a good note and first two weeks of April saw a very good demand. Emami has seasonal products and has healthy summer products like Navratna Tel and cool talc, however the demand tapered this season. But it is also seen that the demand really bounces back as soon as cases comes down and this time when market opens up, the company is confident of delivering a double-digit volume growth as the pent-up demand comes through.
• Seeing the input price inflation, Emami has taken 4% price hike which will take care of the input cost pressure leading to a stable Gross Margin.
• Rural demand has been impacted across geographies in second wave. The Company expects demand to pick up quickly as soon as lockdowns are lifted.
• Having the healthcare range in the portfolio, Emami was able to sell products even in the month of April and May. The demand for these products was seen to be robust.
• In the last 2 years contribution of E-commerce has reached ~4% of domestic business from 0.5%. It is expected to reach at least 6% in next 2-3 years.
• Cost reduction was seen in employee cost, other expenses and advertisement, EBITDA margin was at all time high at 30% level and target is to sustain margins going ahead.
• No need to add capacity as of now as the capacity utilization is ~60%.

Asset Multiplier Comments
• We believe that competition in Emami’s key product categories such as skin, and hair oil, will continue to remain high. Nevertheless, we remain optimistic about the favourable base, and robust demand and growth in health and hygiene market, especially in rural markets.

Consensus Estimate (Source: investing. com and market screener websites)
• The closing price of Emami was ₹ 504/- as of 26-May-20. It traded at 42.5x/32.1x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 11.8/15.6 for FY22E/ FY23E respectively.
• The consensus target price of ₹ 564/- implies a PE multiple of 36x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 15.6/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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12 Aug

Healthcare and hygiene portfolio has grown by 29% in Q1 – Emami

Update on the Indian Equity Market:
On Tuesday, NIFTY closed in the green at 11,322 (+0.5%). Top gainers in NIFTY50 were Zee (+5.2%), JSW Steel (+3.9%), and Axis bank (+3.9%). The top losers were Shree Cement (-3.9%), Titan (-3.6%), and UPL (-2.3%). The top sectoral gainers were MEDIA (+1.9%), PVT BANK (+1.7%) and METAL (+1.6%) and sectoral losers were PHARMA (-1.4%), IT (-0.5%), and REALTY (-0.5%).

Excerpts of an interview with Mr NH Bhansali, CEO, Emami with ET now dated 10th August 2020:

● April was impacted badly. They progressed well in May and in June they grew in single digit. The July trajectory is also good. They grew in double digits in July and they expect the growth to resume.
● On the international front also, while they have declined in the first quarter but in the second quarter, they expect to improve on the international front as well. They expect moderate growth in 2QFY21.
● The healthcare and hygiene portfolio has grown by 29% in Q1FY21 and it contributed around 43% of the turnover in the first quarter. While the summer brands and other brands including the male grooming all de-grew by 44%.
● This pulled down the overall growth which contributed around 57%. Going forward they expect good growth from the healthcare and hygiene products kind of sanitizers.
● new launches there in the healthcare and sanitizers like Boroplus Sanitizer, soaps, aloe vera gel, zandu immunity range, chyawanprash they all contributed around 5% of the turnover.
● Navratna and others were declining in the first quarter but now in June-July they have started recovering. Kesh King range was declining in April-May but cumulatively in June, the Kesh King range has been able to wipe out its losses.
● It is stable now, it has maintained its growth and they expect now the growth to come in in the second quarter. Summer brands have also now started picking up while the decline earlier was higher but in June-July the decline has been lesser.
● The gross margins have reduced by 230 bps and EBITDA margins has improved by 480 bps. The gross margin has been mainly because of the benign cost and they expect this kind of margins to continue.
● On the EBITDA level, they had taken many initiatives, right from reducing on the advertisements which was not required in the April as they were completely off air in April, May and June now gradually they are resuming some of the advertisements
● They have internally targeted to improve their costs by around Rs 80-100 crore in the next 12 months and they are well on the path and they would continue to achieve it.
● They have made 12 new launches in this quarter and which were all around health and hygiene and sanitizers and all. In the times to come, they are planning to get into the home hygiene products which may include disinfectants, toilet cleaners and bathroom cleaners and other things.
● Rural demand has picked up well, in fact, it is visible in the rural areas compared to the urban but there is no significant down trading on LUPs.
● They have initiated so many things, they have done digital marketing because their focus is more on addressing the consumers digitally without physical touch so while the retail and modern trade has been impacted, and they are exploring other channels also.
● They are doing a lot many initiatives by telemarketing, digital marketing, tele-calling for taking the orders and ensuring that the supplies are done on time. In fact, the E-commerce business has more than doubled in this first quarter despite such a decline and it is continuing to grow.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener and investing.com websites)

● The closing price of Emami was ₹ 337/- as of 11-August-2020. It traded at 34x/ 31x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 9.9/ 10.8 for FY21E/22E respectively.
● The consensus price target is ₹ 301/- which trades at 28x the earnings estimate for FY22E of ₹ 10.8/-
Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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22 Jul

Demand momentum could stay for 6-9 months – Britannia

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, Nifty ended 1.3% higher at 11,170. The top gainers for Nifty 50 were Power Grid (+6.4%), IOC (+5.7%), and BPCL (+5.4%) while the losing stocks were Bajaj Finance (-4.0%), Bajaj Finserv (-3.5%), and Britannia (-2.4%). Sectoral gainers for the day were PSU Bank (+2.1%), Bank (+2.1%) and Financial Services (+2.0%) while the losers were Pharma (-1.5%) and FMCG (-0.8%).

Edited excerpts of an interview with Mr Varun Berry, MD, Britannia Industries Ltd; dated 21st July 2020 from Economic Times:

  • Britannia started completely on the back foot. They were not sure where they were going because factories were closed, and distribution systems were in a disarray.
  • It was everyone with their shoulder to the wheel, executing at a rate which was outstanding.
  • The demand for food that human beings eat is about the same. It is just that there was no out of home or on-the-go consumption happening during this time. It was all home consumption and that gave them an advantage, he added.
  • There was some amount of larder stocking but that was at the beginning of this pandemic. Thereafter, it has been regular consumption for most consumers.
  • The demand momentum is going to continue, albeit at a slightly slower pace as they go through the year.
  • In the last seven years, Britannia has done a lot of work in rural areas and that is keeping them in very good stead as far as the numbers are concerned. The rural trends are a lot more aggressive than urban trends. Even the pandemic has not hit the rural consumers as much as what they are seeing in the urban centres. From 21,000 rural distributors in February, they have been able to take this up to 22,000 distributors in June.
  • He doesn’t think that 21% margin is sustainable but they are going to make sure that they try and see whatever they can get out of it, there will be almost 50% of this will go right back because advertising and sales promotion will get back to normal as soon as they have a full product out in the market. Similarly, there are certain other costs which will get back but Britannia is looking at every possibility of getting as much out of this period so that it can get as many savings out of this.
  • Britannia is not seeing inflationary trends as far as the raw materials are concerned. On all of the raw materials, it has been a very reasonable level of inflation at about 3% and Britannia sees that to continue through the year.
  • The distance travelled by Britannia’s biscuits has come down from 370 km to 320 km during the last quarter so shortening supply chains, getting products domestically all of that is becoming important.
  • There was a huge surge in modern trade in the past three-four years, modern trade was growing at almost 2-2.5 times the growth of the traditional trade business but during this pandemic, people are depending more on their neighbourhood stores and hence traditional trade has started to see a huge rebound. Britannia has to make sure that it takes that into its plans as well.
  • Their bread business has outgrown its overall bakery business, not just in terms of top-line but also in the bottom-line sense. Similarly, their cheese business has grown almost two times the overall growth. He is of a strong opinion that these are not sustainable growth numbers because they are one-off, but it is just giving them a very clear outlook about the opportunities and areas they can concentrate on.
  • There is down-trading happening as people are not going out and eating in restaurants. Biscuits are the cheapest form of the snack and it comes from a highly trusted company and a highly trusted brand. Within the category, for Britannia, there has been no downgrading. He has heard from a competitor that there is serious down-trading in their portfolio but from Britannia’s product portfolio, it has been the premium products which are holding sway.
  • The R&D centre is working overtime on the kind of products that the consumers are looking for. The first objective for Britannia was to match the core but beyond that, they have gotten into categories and a lot of work is happening in those categories. Market research, insights work, could not happen during the four-month period of lockdown and that has delayed the rollout of some of their products. But they are going to be back with a bang as far as category growths and new innovation of products are concerned. Britannia is also working on some immunity products and is doing research to make sure that it brings in absolutely the right products which give the consumers the genuine results they are looking for.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Britannia Industries was ₹ 3,883/- as of 21-July-2020. It traded at 50x/47x/41x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 78/82/95 for FY21E/FY22E/FY23E respectively.
  • The consensus target price of ₹ 4,064/- implies a PE multiple of 43x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 95/-.

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

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19 Feb

Planning for double-digit revenue growth in FY21E: Page Industries

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

Following its Asian peers, the markets continued the downward trajectory on Tuesday with Nifty closing 53 points lower at 11,993. With the majority of result season wrapped up by last Saturday, the focus has been shifted to the global macros. Within the sectoral indices, only two indices, Media (1.9%) and IT (0.6%) ended the day higher while METAL (-1.2%), AUTO (-1.0%) and REALTY (-0.9%) were the highest losers. Among the index stocks, COALINDIA (2.9%), ZEEL (2.7%) and BPCL (2.3%) were the gainers whereas INFRATEL (-11.3%), YESBANK (-6.3%) and TATAMOTORS (-3.9%) brought the index lower.

Excerpts from an interview with Mr. Chandrasekhar K., CFO – Page Industries published in ET NOW on 14th February 2020:

  • Commenting on the 3QFY20 result, Mr Chandrasekhar said that there is a temporary dip in PAT because of investments that company has made in sales, marketing, people and technology. This is the only way for company to drive sustainable growth in the future.
  • The growth in revenues for 3QFY20 as well as for 9MFY20 was at 7%. This was lower than what the company had expected. He said that if the company had volume growth in mid-teens, all of the above stated expenses would have been fully absorbed and the company would have maintained the margins. Whenever the demand returns, the margins will be back to the historical levels.
  • He said that the company operates in an under-penetrated premium apparel market and there are multiple opportunities for growth. The company is expanding its presence and distribution in exclusive business outlets and continue to invest in technology.
  • The street is expecting the industry to grow at 10% in FY21E. The company is also expected to achieve double-digit growth. He said that FY21E should be better than FY20.
  • Instead of looking at market share, the company focuses on the penetration levels in the industry. The company has a penetration of 20% into the premium men’s innerwear market. The company has penetration levels of 6-8% in women’s market as well as in athleisure which is an activewear segment.
  • The company enjoys a strong consumer base. It has a reach of more than 63,000 retail outlets and the company is able to withstand the slow phase. The company currently operates through 720 Exclusive Business Outlets (EBO) and has a target of reaching more than 1,000 EBOs by FY21E.
  • The company has aggressively ramped up the kids’ clothing portfolio. The acceptance has been pretty good in the market. The segment has grown almost 45% this year and the company has created a separate channel for kids. The company is also planning to open exclusive Jockey junior EBOs in the coming quarter.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Page Industries was ₹ 22,689/- as of 18-February-2020.  It traded at 63x/ 51x/ 44x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 362/ 445/ 520 for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • The consensus target price for Page Industries is not available on market screener website.
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18 Dec

It’s a perfect storm in the consumer goods sector, says Godrej’s Gambhir

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Tuesday, NIFTY50 closed 0.9% higher at 12,082. NIFTY50 gainers include Tata Steel (+4.6%), Bharti Airtel (+4.5%), Vedanta (+3.4%) and Hindalco (+3.3%). NIFTY50 losers include Sun Pharma (-1.3%), GAIL (-0.9%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.7%). Metal (+2.9), IT (+1.9%) and Media (+1.0%) were the top sectoral gainers. Pharma (-0.3) and Realty (-0.3%) were the only losing sectors.

Excerpts from an interview with Mr Vivek Gambhir, MD & CEO, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL). The interview was published in Livemint dated 16th December 2019

  • For packaged consumer goods companies, rural growth slowed to a seven-year low in the September quarter, according to market researcher Nielsen India.
  • A general gloom in consumer sentiment and stagnating wages continue to impact sales of daily goods in India’s hinterland said, Mr Vivek Gambhir.
  • The slowdown has been persistent for the last three or four quarters according to Mr Gambhir. GCPL saw the first signs around October 2018. Over the last few quarters, along with the slowdown in demand, they have seen liquidity pressure in the channels (wherein traders and distributors have limited access to cash or credit from the market). Similarly, over the last three to six months, consumer sentiment has also worsened. So, in some ways, what the Company is seeing currently is a perfect storm in the FMCG sector with the confluence of slowing demand, channel liquidity pressure and weakening consumer sentiment which has been exacerbating the situation.
  • Reasons for the slowdown: Data on real wage growth in the rural sector shows that real wages have been flat or declining over the last one or two years. According to him, what consumers do is, once certain products are within their spending basket, they spend on them for a while. Then they start dipping into their savings. Even savings rates have come down in India recently. But when sentiment becomes sour, then things start affecting the sector.
  • GCPL has seen such a similar kind of situation in its first couple of quarters. They have seen a volume growth of 6-7%, which is not a bad volume growth. Volume growth is not translating into value growth because of consumer incentives and offers. He believes that is the right call to take as the P&L is quite healthy. GCPL is sitting on attractive margins. The need of the hour is to stimulate demand. Ideally, GCPL would like to be at double-digit volume growth and the efforts going forward will be to get back there.
  • In a slowdown, home and personal care get impacted more than food, according to him. The indulgence categories like beauty products and chocolates continue to grow as consumers like some ‘feel-good” factor even in a slowdown. The slowdown has been quite pervasive and has impacted most categories, particularly in rural India. Within the home and personal care, discretionary categories such as skin creams, conditioners, hair oil, hair colour get impacted. But more items are considered as discretionary for rural consumers given their lower income levels.
  • In the last two or three months, both staples and discretionary have been impacted quite a bit; that is consumer sentiment has worsened. People had very high expectations post the elections. Since they did not see any improvements, the mood seems to have worsened.
  • Views on changing goods and services tax (GST) slabs again: At this stage, trying to do too much with GST rates will be a mistake in his opinion. Companies need time to let the GST rates settle. There are a lot of implementation issues that need to be addressed. The Companies need to continue to work with various stakeholders, particularly small businesses and, in GCPL case, channel partners, to help them deal with what has been one of the largest tax reforms in Indian history post-independence. At this stage, trying to do too much with GST rates to drive short-term collections may not be the right strategy. It is important to stay the course, rather than to make rate changes that are currently being discussed.

Consensus Estimate (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd was ₹ 677/- as of 17-December-19. It traded at 43x/37x/33x the consensus EPS estimate for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E of ₹ 16.0/18.6 /20.7 respectively.
  • Consensus target price of ₹ 753/- implies a PE multiple of 36.4x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 20.7/-.
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