Questions across 26 calls

Abneesh Roy

Nuvama Institutional Equities

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-May26.pdf · 2026-05-08

Congrats. Two questions. So first, of course, on your comment that the market share data you may stop giving and it is more from an execution part rather than a benchmark. So second question is, how do you then benchmark because you must be having those e -commerce, quick-commerce data, which you must be getting. So how reliable is that? And apart from this, if the data is not covering so many channels, how relevant is it even from a execution part of things? How relevant is it from that also?

Understood. Second and last question will be on the beverage business. 2 subparts here. One is Campa is now number 3 in water Pan -India and very aggressive advertising INR15 pricing Campa Sure, Amitabh Bachchan brand ambassador. Here, specific question is from a margin perspective for you in NourishCo how are things? And from a long -term growth perspective, given Campa will keep getting more aggressive as they get the back end right. How is the long -term growth? I'm sure next 2 quarters, the growth will be very strong given the El Niño impact. That's the first part. Second part, very small U.S. business, you highlighted margins will improve. But what about pricing? In developed markets, once commodity cools off pricing also cools off very quickly, right? So if you could comment on that part?

Pidilite Industries Limited

Pidilite Industries Limited CC-May26.pdf · 2026-05-08

Congrats on very strong numbers. My first question is on the share swap that you have done with JSW One. Why transfer your BuildNext platform, BuildNext Construction Solutions. And is this a financial investment in JSW One given there is a plan for an IPO? And you do compete in paints, I think. So could there be some kind of a strategic tie-up in paints also? Is that possible?

And my question, whether this is a financial investment. Historically, I have seen that Pidilite likes to have stake in these kind of distribution/new consumer platforms to get access to data, to get some preferential orders, et cetera. So is this a financial investment? Or is it more strategic?

Pidilite Industries Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-01-24

Congrats on good set of numbers. My first question is on the lending business, which was announced last quarter. You had said that you will be first doing a pilot project and from where the learnings would be there. So my specific questions are in terms of any learnings if you can share. And you had also said that the team will be completely separate versus Pidilite's team. So in terms of team, etcetera, has that been fully set up? And in terms of the INR 100 crores outlay for 2 years, any change to that number?

Right. So Bharat, are you going a bit slow versus initial expectation? Because in 3 months, the pilot project has not started. So are you going a bit slow because the demand scenario is a bit different or there's a feedback from investors that this is slightly risky? Is there any change?

Pidilite Industries Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-09

I have two questions. First is on the domestic consumer bazaar volume growth of 8% YoY and 14% four-year CAGR. Now a lot of your demand comes from discretionary segments like furniture, apparel, footwear etc., which is currently seeing a slowdown. So, if you could tell us the good volume growth you have reported , where this is coming from and you have also diversified your business sign ificantly over the last four years. So, when you see that 14% CAGR, if you could give us over a four-year, how has the mix changed over four-year, whatever details you can give?

Thanks, Bharat, that is useful. My second and last question is on the lending business. So, 2-3 key questions there. One is , why acquire a promoter Group company and why was this zero-debt company and why promoter started this and nothing much happened it seems and why have you acquired? Why not do it from scratch? That was first question. Second is 50 crores per year , 100 crore two-year seems too small. So, is this a pilot projec t and if it is successful, it could be much bigger ? You are such a large company with 3 ,000-core EBITDA. So, 100 crore two-years seems too small to have a big business impact . So, if you could tell us, is this pilot or is this the final amount? And third is that no consumer company seems to be doing this. You are known to be out -of-the-box, but why not do th ird party? What is the big benefit by doing it in -house? I understand data access , and premiumiza tion, a lot of that could have been done by third party also. So, if you could cover all these points.

Bikaji Foods International Limited

Bikaji Foods International Limited CC-Feb26.pdf · 2026-01-28

My first question is on dry fruits and nuts. So, consumer treats dry fruits and nuts also as a broader part of the snacks category. And clearly, consumer is focusing more on health. And we have seen many companies create big business. For example, Tata Consumer, already INR250 crores ARR in nuts they have created. What will be your thoughts on this because this is a very low-hanging fruit because part of the same broader snacks category. Any thoughts on this? Have you tried this at any point of time? Any pilot projects you have done in this?

Sure. One follow-up on the core versus focus. My question is why is sweets and gifting higher in focus market? Is it easier to do that, especially in a new market? What is the reason?

Bikaji Foods International Limited CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-11-12

Thanks. My first question is on focus states versus others. Now, if I see that the absolute size of the other states is almost similar to the focus states. And the other states are growing almost 3x of the focus states. If you could elaborate on which of these states in the others is growing so fast? Is there any one-off, any specific activation, which has really driven 3x the growth of focus? Because ideally, focus should grow the fastest, right? I'm not able to understand why focus has grown slower than the company’s overall number. And in others, is there some state you want to now call it focus because that seems to be doing much better. That is first question.

Understood. And what exactly do you do different in focus state? Is it that a higher percentage of advertising spend and activation spend versus the revenue salience? Is that why you call it focus states? So what is the difference?

Bikaji Foods International Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-07

Yes, thanks. Congrats on margins. My first question is on Western Snacks. So, you have given the 2025 vision. My question here is, this is a tough business given there is a large multinational player and there are a few Indian players also who are very strong. Here the issue is logistics cost is very high given the thing which is transported is air. That's the big thing inside the packs. So, that makes it very, very tough and very, very important to have very regional kind of manufacturing in every state, every key demand center. So here, once you scale this up, how do you see profitability in this part of the business and what's the current profitability and what is the right to win here because you are seen as a n Indian snack. Why you want to scale it up to a bigger business because already intense players are there in this business?

So, two quick follow-up. One is you had a 32% gross margin this quarter. Will it be fair to say that Western snacks will be more in the 20’s in terms of gross margin? And second is which are the key states you are targeting for this or is it most of your key states currently?

Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Godrej Consumer Products Limited CC-Dec24.pdf · 2025-01-24

My first question is on the Soaps business in India. So one is, you did mention the destocking of the channels given the price changes. Second is the customer, of course, whenever inflation happens and price in Soaps did go up , buy a smaller pack. From your one -year perspective, would you expect all these to normalize? So what it means is, say, in Q1 FY '26 and you did say H1, you would expect normalization. Would you expect that for 1 year, your growth rate at least should be fully normalized? So whatever you're missing currently and even in Q4, although sequential recovery will happen. Does that get overcompensated in H1 of FY '26?

My second related question is in detergent, we have seen the legacy players and the large players do quite well in Liquid Detergent. And when I see Body Wash, the numbers in Soaps, etcetera, don't reflect the same buoyancy what we see in Liquid Detergents. So in Body Wash, is it that the new players, say, we have seen ITC, Colgate-Palmolive, lot of D2C companies also make a lot of headways. They have started the advertising also. So , how is the performance of legacy companies, the larger soap companies in the liquid format of that? And when you compare that to detergent, why the difference is there?

Godrej Consumer Products Limited CC-Jun24.pdf · 2024-08-07

I have three questions. My first question is on pet food. So here specific questions are what are the reasons for entering this? Second is, GAVL you said has good understanding of pet food. So could you elaborate what exactly they have done in pet food til l now? And this category if you see has a different distribution than any other FMCG plus it does have a very strong one large MNC and Nestle has also entered a few years back. So what will be our right to win here given our distribution, our understanding of this space till now is not there?

Sure. My second question will be on the Raymond business. So you briefly alluded to the Urban GT, slight change in distribution, which I think you are planning, and there has been some market share loss. If you could elaborate why did you choose to do what you did? And what is the change now which will happen? And you also mentioned there was obviously some portfolio rationalization. Would you need to bring back some part of that portfolio back in the Urban GT? And when you mentioned slightly behind profit expectation, could you again tell us FY25 -26, what kind of sales growth and what kind of EBITDA growth or EBITDA margin will be possible, given these changes which you'll now do in terms of Urban GT or maybe some other change in the portfolio?

Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited CC-Dec24.pdf · 2025-01-22

I have two questions. My first question is on Minimalist acquisition. So, in Beauty business, you're under-indexed in premium versus rest of the Unilever's portfolio in India. So, wanted to understand, once Minimalist, the execution is done, the scale-up in the off-line is done and the synergy benefits, etcetera, are achieved, say, in the next 2 years, where does the numbers move in terms of under indexation? Do you achieve that goal? Second question also on Minimalist. So, these are part of the same question is, from a pricing architecture and product portfolio gap, what exactly Minimalist is addressing ex of the D2C play? I understood the D2C play. But from a pricing and product, is there any gap this acquisition is delivering? And a final question on Minimalist will be, why is it profitable from start? Because generally D2C companies first 4, 5 years, you have seen that huge losses are there. So, what is different here? Could the acquisition by a larger company lead to cost dynamics changing in this and the profitability initially, could it come under question once the acquisition is done?

Sure. That's useful. My second and last question is on the 2 good categories in terms of volumes. One is dishwash and detergent. Here, if I see high -single digit volume growth, of course, industry should not be growing at that level given the urban slowdown. So where is the market share gain coming in these 2 specific segments? Is it from the larger national players? And here, the urban growth for you, is it decent? My sense is it should be decent. But if you could comment from where the market share gains are happening. And once this market share gain eases off when it comes in the base, etcetera, then if you could comment in terms of growth, how do you see these 2 specific categories?

AWL Agri Business Limited

AWL Agri Business Limited CC-Sep24.pdf · 2024-10-25

Congrats on very good set of numbers. My first question is on Edible Oil. If I see your quarterly run rate for the last 4 years, 3 years, it was almost stable. Hardly any movement in terms of the 1 million ton. This year, there is a spectacular movement. Is there any one -off? Is there any seasonality, festival-related impact or any modern trade or e -commerce activation? Or is it because of all this volatility? Whenever any pricing goes up in FMCG, generally, the market leader gains market share, and we have seen, obviously, sharp inflation in the last 3, 4 months. Is that driving that?

And sir, ex of B2B, you said ITC, Parle, et cetera, have seen a good offtake, which I think if you could confirm, is it largely for biscuits? Second is B2C part would have seen what 12%, 13% growth?

Varun Beverages Limited

Varun Beverages Limited CC-Sep24.pdf · 2024-10-22

I have two questions. First is on the QIP, Rs. 7,500 crore. Will it be largely used for acquisitions and if possible mostly Africa or will it be for debt reduction given Rs. 6,000 crore debt is there? Historically, you have been much more focused on the expansion part of the business. So, will it be half-half or any clarity if you can give on how you think in terms of use of the QIP?

My second question is on the India business. Of course, this quarter almost every beverage company was impacted because of the rain. My question is, would you need some inventory correction? If you see , Dabur saw very sharp inventory correction because for them 2 back to back quarters was on the higher side . Your volume growth in the previous quarter Q2 was 22% and now 5.7, and your base is quite high. Your base is almost 19% in December quarter. If you could comment on how you see the December quarter, no specific guidance, but given La Nina effect and given high base, and would you need some inventory correction given the kind of scenario current you have?

Varun Beverages Limited CC-Jun24.pdf · 2024-07-30

My first question is on the water business. What you are seeing in this quarter, June quarter, the market leader in Juice business base of an impact because out-of-home travel being less. So they were expecting and maybe Street were also expecting good double digit, but it can be lower than that. Similarly, another listed player, which is in Water business, we were also expecting a very strong double digit, but it will be lower than that. Wanted to understand in your business also when I see this quarter v/s last year same quarter, around 100 bps lower water contribution is there. So you have also seen some impact of less out of on travel?

And one follow-up question on the coming quarters. I see your base in India is now 15% and 18%. And this quarter, the high range, of course, is not conducive because the temperature will be lower. In December quarter, the La Nina impact generally, the winter is harsher. So would you be still confident that for the entire second half CY, you will be confident of double digit. These are early days, I understand. But given the base and given the seasonality, would you still expect double -digit growth in India?

Varun Beverages Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-13

Congrats on strong margins. My first question is on the outlook. June quarter, clearly, your base is quite favorable, it was soft. Plus, we also have the heat wave. And is there any benefit also from the election -related rallies? I wanted to get a sense on how you see June quarter. I understand the guidance will be difficult. But do you think that much stronger double -digit growth should come back in the Indian business, volume growth?

And one related question was on the overall market also. Campa Cola in FY24 has done around Rs. 400 crore sales. If you could tell us any market, any kind of impact or its mostly the market has expanded? And second, to your own business, if you could tell us quick commerce, e-commerce and modern trade, in March quarter, how was it this year v/s the same quarter last year?

PVR INOX Limited

PVR INOX Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-14

My first question is on the company you have formed with Devyani. So I wanted to understand what are the reasons for doing this now? And what will be the benefit for you? And in terms of investments, say, from a three-year perspective, what kind of investments will go into this? Will this be more of cross -promotion because in many developed markets , like UK, etcetera, there is good cross-promotion of food and cinema? Is that the main reason because otherwise you and Devyani both are fairly well -established players and who understand both malls and foods quite we ll? So what is the real benefits for you? And what will be the investment and in what timeframe?

Sir, two, three follow-ups there. One is in terms of consumer behaviour, I wanted to understand how exactly this will work because the consumer, again, he sees the movie and then he comes out and then he shops and then he decides to go for the food court. So how exactly you're able to tap or change this? Second, you yourself have a pre -ticket booking, which is possible. So that -- any way you have, so how does this add or change that? Second is, is there any capex also involved from your side because branded food court, obviously, there will be some level of capex? And will this be more to wards new properties or existing also? Is there any possibility or change, because that will be very difficult, in my view, because most existing malls already the brand -- food court will be in a separate location or in a separate floor? So how does it work for existing property?

Marico Limited

Marico Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-01-29

My first question is on True Elements . So here you said that next year you are targeting breakeven. If I see, the category is very attractive and we are seeing many large companies also quite interested here, plus, there are a few D2C brands. So, my specific question is what is the distribution scale up here done till now and where do you see distribution in the next 3 years? Because another listed company in similar space took distribution 10x post-acquisition. Also, in terms of the differentiation in strategy pre- and post-acquisition once you have taken over , are you changing the strategy in terms of the positioning or in terms of pricing etc . anything meaningful versus pre acquisition?

Two more small follow -ups on Foods business. So , one Plix looks very attractive and very differentiated opportunity, very attractive packaging. What are the initial learnings, what are the initial findings? And second is on masala oats , another listed company entered a few quarters back. They are trying a slightly different position which is millets plus oats. Millets has become in fact quite normal by most FMCG companies. I wanted to understand in masala oats how is the competitive intensity and you have enjoyed an extremely good run there. Do you see some risk of market share loss next 2-3 years?

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-09

My first question is on ZEE5. So, the sharp reduction in losses quarter-on-quarter, so what is new here? Is it because of the impending merger, you would like to have a more nuanced look at the merged entity difference overall strategy? Or is it because the competitive intensity from the global OTT is reducing? Or is it because the overall OTT revenue potential itself seems to be slowing down much earlier than initial expectation?

So, one follow-up on that was, and that's also on your movie production business. So Q2, we saw the entire movie industry do really well, multiplex industry had all time high their numbers. And you yourselves did well across 3 different languages and very good numbers. So are there any learnings from what you did, which can be seen as a playbook for your coming movies because the same movie industry in October h as again seen very tough times. So, your comment on that. And second one was what we have picked up OTTs now are bidding for movies once they are actually released. So, then they'll get a sense of how the movie is and the bidding rights also are much more sensible. So how does that impact you both as a buyer of content and as a seller of content.

United Spirits Limited

United Spirits Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-09

Thanks and congrats on margins and dividend payout. My first question is on the new launch, Tequila, Don Julio. So Diageo has got several brands in the portfolio. What was the thought process for bringing this? Any examples of other emerging markets? How does this do post 5-6 years of launch? And third is what will be the positioning? And how big can this industry and the brand be over a longer time frame. Not asking for a specific guidance, but is this something which you are very excited over a 5- to 7-year time frame?

One follow-up there. So just like globally, this -- the tequila has become larger than vodka. In India, vodka category is small, but there's another registered player, which is quite large there. So longer term, do you expect that consumers, which can replicate what has happened for Diageo globally that in India also, this segment over a longer time frame would mirror or be bigger than vodka?

Patanjali Foods Limited

Patanjali Foods Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-09

My first question is on the hedging losses’ impact. We have seen the past few quarters for both you and the No. 1 player in edible oils, there has been a big impact. My question is what is the impact on the local regional players, smaller players, and unlisted players in the edible oil? From a hedging losses’ perspective, how have they managed? Do they have the same kind of very strong hedging policy which has not worked for you and the No. 1 player? But do they have such things? If they don't have, has that helped them in the business because then they would not have those losses? If you could comment on their hedging policies. And in terms of real market share - I'm not referring to the Nielsen market share - in terms of your own gut feel in terms of how they have done in terms of the volume growth, that will be very helpful.

My second and last question is on the downtrading which is being felt across many FMCG categories. If you could comment how you are able to meet that and is that a big concern? Because, edible oil, clearly, customers play between quite a few brands. Which ever has their promotion from the modern trade, e -commerce, or say lower pricing in the general trade also, they do shift there. Your thoughts on how the industry is grappling? Because, this is a very common trend across many FMCG. And related to that, in terms of Dhoni as brand ambassador, would you increase your overall mass media advertising also? I understand Dhoni himself will charge. But the bigger question is in terms of mass media secondage, will there be a sharp ramp- up next 1 or 2 years?

Radico Khaitan Limited

Radico Khaitan Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-07

So, we are seeing a very strong mix change which is happening in your business. Ex of Karnataka, there is the consumer going because such a sharp dip in the regular category in the lower end, obviously, consumption will not happen so drastically in terms of c hange. So obviously, that consumer is going to other brands. For a lot of the multinational companies, this is a very conscious strategy. So, in your case, how much of this mix change is conscious strategy? And how much is a risky proposition for medium long term, given the consumer will shift to other and possibly the local brands?

Okay. Understood. And in terms of the advertising and more so surrogate advertising, could you take us through -- because you are doing so many new products at the P&A level, especially in whisk y, where traditionally, there are other players who are having the higher market share. Could you take us through how those trends will pan out in the coming quarters? Because now Q3 clearly is a festival quarter, but more from a one to two years' perspective, how do see your ad spends panning out?