Questions across 80 calls

Abneesh Roy

Nuvama

LT Foods Limited

LT Foods Limited CC-Jun24.pdf · 2024-07-25

My first question is on the market share in India. Are you seeing any movement there given the number 3 player had acquired company in the Basmati. So any impact of that going ahead you see? And how is the market share versus the other large players in India?

Okay. And in terms of your international business, how do you see growth this year. You have taken a lot of proactive steps in those countries, US., Europe, etc? Could you talk about growth expectations for the balance part of the year, FY '25?

Bikaji Foods International Limited

Bikaji Foods International Limited CC-Jun24.pdf · 2024-07-25

So, I wanted to ask, in Q1, a lot of the categories have been impacted because of heat wave. In your category, does in fact help the family packs, because if a customer is more at home, obviously, you're going to consume more of the family pack. So would you have seen benefit because of this in the family pack and that's reflected in the numbers also? So could this cool off impact in Q2, because now customer is again going out of home?

Now on the margins question, we also saw the results of the other snacks company. So they said that in terms of pricing, they are looking at some price hikes in the coming months and some have been taken also and you have also taken. So if you could tell us in terms of the dry fruits impact and on an overall basis, what is the inflation currently on a Y-o-Y basis? And what kind of a price hike has been able to overcome that hike. So if you could discuss both your prices and the total inflation till now in terms of Y-o-Y.

Bikaji Foods International Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-24

So, for the full year, you saw 15% kind of volume growth and 18% sales growth. So, my question here is, do you expect again early teens kind of volume growth and now most FMCG companies are talking about a 2% to 3% price hike in some part of the year, so would you expect that also to continue because in Q4 your pricing growth was not there, but will you expect that to come back in FY25?

And would you have seen market share gain because I don't think the industry volumes are growing at 15%? So, which states would you have gained more market share on a full-year basis?

PVR INOX Limited

PVR INOX Limited CC-Jun24.pdf · 2024-07-22

My first question is on the ticket pricing. So you're trying to have flexible pricing. So if you could tell us how has been the success, any tweaking needed there? Second is this news flow, which came on Karnataka, that 1% t o 2% cess can be put on the ticket pricing and all other revenue related to the establishment. Would you be worried on this given the weak footfalls, could this get copied in other states? And what can the industry do to prevent this, given in GST, a lot of the tax reforms happened, now somehow again cess, et cetera, is coming back?

One small follow -up, essentially on Karnataka. So in case something of this comes, would a legal remedy either from the courts or, say, any tax authority, could that be one of the options?

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-17

Congrats on recovery in the margin starting, still it's a long way. My first question is media is a people's business, and you had built up the team over the last few years in terms of the OTT and overall multiple genres. And because of the change in scena rio, you have now started focusing on a more rational cost base. So, I wanted to understand, one, now that a lot of the rationalization is happening, how does this impact your ability to fight competition in medium, long term? I understand the market share is a dynamic number. But not having that talent pool, how does it impact both in OTT and in terms of the linear TV in medium, long term? And now that FMCG recovery is starting, which you also referred to multiple times in the opening remarks, again, is this the right time to rationalize your cost structure because if revenue is improving for the industry, generally, the investment by the players also increases. So, I wanted to understand more holistic, more from a 2 to 3 year perspective, not 1 or 2 quarters, how does this impact your ability to fight the competition?

Sure. My second question is on the 2 important revenue items for you. In both, we have seen a good recovery. So, if you could talk about how the industry should look at FY '25 in both advertising and subscription revenue. I remember historically, you have always given at this point of time, your outlook on the advertising industry and subscription now, clearly, things are far better versus, say, 2 to 3 years back. So more on the industry level, I know for you, generally, you grow a bit faster, but given the dynamic nature of changes which you are doing any, I'm not asking a company specific guidance, but at the industry level for your kind of a genre, what is the expectation?

Radico Khaitan Limited

Radico Khaitan Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-15

My first question is on the raw material scenario in FY25. So, you have highlighted that because good monsoons are expected, you would expect a gradual softening of the ENA grain prices. So will this be more of H2 both in terms of ENA and even glass in t erms of softening. So, first half could be a bit challenging just like in Q4 where around 150 bps compression has happened versus full year, there is 150 bps compression in gross margin. The first half looks challenging in terms of both the raw materials.

Second question is on the current development of the election. So, in a Lok Sabha election year there are disruptions for the liquor sector in 5 | P a g e Q4 FY2024 Earnings Call Transcript terms of excise officer availability, interstate transfer of raw material and finished products and of course the dry days also. So, could you tell us what kind of disruptions you expect in this time’s Lok Sabha elections in Q1?

Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited

Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-15

My first question is on personal care. So, slide #19 mentions Protex and Sanex. So, is that an indication that these two brands have been kind of shortlisted and if any timeframe? And second related question on personal care is on Palmolive. So, we have seen the three new variants being launched, we have seen mass media also. So, my specific questions are there. Are you focusing essentially on modern trade and e-commerce for Palmolive because you have mentioned that 1.2X growth in share of mind is there in modern trade. So, is modern trade and e-commerce going to be the focus in the next two years here? Second is the category seeing huge disruption. It's a very low penetration, 3% penetration, but we are also seeing one player come with powder to liquid and they have done generally quite well in powder to liquid. So, given that disruption, focusing on premium, does it make sense? And last is your domestic sales growth was around 9.5% as a Company in FY'24. Would Palmolive have grown at least 2x, 3X of that in FY'24?

Just one small follow up on the Palmolive mass media advertising. Would you have a benchmark in terms of what kind of share of voice, etc., you would like to target because this is an under-invested brand for almost 2 -3 decades. So, upfront advertising will be needed. So, in the channels where you are focusing initially, will you have a significant kind of a number in terms of share of voice?

Pidilite Industries Limited

Pidilite Industries Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-08

Congrats on very strong volume growth. So my first question is on the demand side. So you have been delivering double -digit volume growth, and real estate cycle is expected to continue for at least a few more years, and you have been a key beneficiary of that. And we are seeing a lot of FMCG companies also say that rural recovery has started and could also get strengthened post monsoon, which again, you will also benefit. And you have said that this quarter, Q4, rural has grown faster than urban for you, which means that clearly, rural is in the right direction. Investor Relations - investor.relations@pidilite.co.in CIN: L24100MH1969PLC014336 So my question is if I combine all this with your comment on soft demand in the near term, which you have alluded in the CNBC interview, to the disruption caused by election, so first, I wanted to understand, let's ignore the near term, how do you see post the near term, essentially the election -related disruption going away? Do you remain as confident as your Q3 commentary on the demand post that? And second, disruption exactly, is it linked to the Model Code of Conduct wherein the government are not able to give the approval? Is it linked to that? Or is it linked to the manpower slight movement which happens here and there?

Right. On the demand side, Bharat sir, 2 follow -up questions I have. One is, a lot of discretionary categories like furniture, shoes, apparel, and many more have had a very tough last almost 5, 6 quarters. And most of these use adhesives in one way or the other. This part of the demand, obviously, would have suffered for you also. In spite of that, you are reporting almost 15% kind of volume growth and double digit in most quarters. So how is this part of the adhesive demand shaping up? And whenever recovery happens, is that an additional growth? That's one question. And second, telecom cost will go up for end customer post-election. That is now a given almost. So there can be 10%, 20% hike. Do you see that impacting your end consumption in any manner?

Marico Limited

Marico Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-06

My first question is on food ’s vision, doubling in 3 years that would mean 25% CAGR and related question is taking direct reach from 1 million to 1.5 million through Project Setu, for both these do you need to do more M&A or is it based on the current portfolio largely?

One related question is on the India demand. Some companies have started talking about high single digit to double digit volume growth in some quarters of FY25 and some companies are also saying that going ahead rural will grow faster than urban. I think it will differ company to company. Wanted to understand for Marico on these two aspects , in terms of volume growth for the full year for the India business and in terms of rural versus urban , what will be your take for Marico?

Britannia Industries Limited

Britannia Industries Limited CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-05-06

My first question is on your key raw material, wheat, and how you see pricing this year at the customer level. So currently, wheat crop collection is happening. I understand it seems better than last year, but wanted to get your sense on the full season. How do you see that? Second related question is you said top line driving it hard will be a key focus. Last 1 year, what I'm seeing is your volume growth is picking up every quarter, but the -- and the sales growth is limited because of the overall negative pricing at the effective level, if your commodity remains soft, how do you see overall pricing for the full year? Because if that doesn't pick up the volume growth remains strong, but if the pricing isn't much, then the overall top line momentum will not change meaningfully. So wanted to understand that.

Yes, quite helpful. One related question will be on your RTM 2.0. So you have mentioned that this will be a pilot project in H2 of FY '25, which means FY '26 will be the real year in terms of benefit and going ahead after that. So I wanted to understand when you are saying a hard focus on growth coming back, FY '26, could you talk about in terms of at least some benefits, what could be there? I understood the process. But in terms of KRA for this project for FY '26, what could it be?

Britannia Industries Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-02-07

My first question is on pack versus volume growth. So earlier, you used to give the pack growth, so essentially a number of transactions. So in biscuits, obviously, customer buys a pack rather than a 100-gram or a 50-gram biscuit. So I wanted to understand how has been the pack growth this time. And given your gross margin and EBITDA margin have done so well for the industry, which is the right metric to track because you must have added back grammage given the higher gross margin? So your volume growth is a goo d number. So 5% is a good number. But from a health of the business perspective, which is the more important number you are tracking in terms of pack growth or in terms of volume growth?

Thanks, One re lated question is, in the last five quarters, four quarters have been 19% plus EBITDA margin. So will it be fair to say that now because of the premiumization or whatever cost initiatives you have taken, this is a more realis tic margin because earlier this was looking like a high margin, but you have delivered quite well there. And second question is because entire industry is also seeing good margin, if you could comment on local players, is that now coming off as a competitive intensity?

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Mar24.pdf · 2024-04-24

Congrats on international margins and innovatio n. My first question is on Capital Foods and Organic India. I understand Organic India will be coming in FY '25 numbers. But wanted to understand from inventory in the pipeline how is it, because the initial part of the -- any M&A, we do see that the inventory is there. Higher channel selling is there. So, when I see your numbers in first 2 months, that leads to INR532 crores annual revenue versus INR705 crores revenue in FY '23. In media interaction, you said for Capital Foods, you expect double digits. So, this double digit is for INR705 crores of a numbe r? Or it's from a more FY '24 kind of a run rate? So, if you could give clarity on both Capital Foods and on Organic India, how should we build in the FY '25 numbers? Sunil D’Souza: So let me take that. A , you're absolutely right. When there is transitions, there are adjustments of inventory, e tcetera, because rem ember, they had a multilayer system. They had a set of super stockists, sub -distributors, etcetera. So Abneesh we've -- in the integration, we've flattened the structure integrated. So, we've taken about 200 distributors from their side. The balance we've integrated with our systems. That's number one. Number two, we've reached to almost 95% up -- 95% of our distributors have already built Capital Foods, and we are on our way. We are basing our numbers of growth on the 705 to 750 sort of number. And we wil l work off that base. We are not working on the 500 -odd base because we know it is under-pegged. We remain extremely confident of our ability to drive the top line given what we are seein g on secondary sales, that's number one. Number two, what we are seeing the response to our integration in the international markets as well. For example, in the U.S., we moved from 4 distributors to 13 d istributors because of their strong connections, a; B, I think the innovation pipeline is very strong, and Ajay being there, continued with us, giving us the history and what he's seeing in the future of the business helps actively. In addition, as I said, the most important thing to drive at the front li ne is all our 1 million plus and 0.5 million -- significant number of 0. 5 million plus cities. We've got 3 salesmen at the front end now with 1 salesman focusing exclusively on Capital Foods and Soulfull, primarily because there is a lot of commonalities in the product throughput a, and b, the type of outlets that they will address.

And this will apply even for Organic India, right, in terms of the growth numbers? Sunil D’Souza: Yes. Organic India, we just finished in -- on the 16th of April. W e're still working through all the details. Again, there's only 24,000 o utlets. So -- I mean there is a significant amount of headroom to grow out there. Again, we will -- we are targeting growth on the, how would I say, normalized run rate for these bus inesses, as they continued alone. And it's not on the short-term adjustments that we will have to do.

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-11-01

My first question is on your energy drink and sports drink. So Rs. 10 price point with a very different brand name ‘Say Never’, wanted to understand does this compete with the Rs. 20 price point energy drink of cola companies? Cola companies have seen spec tacular success but your pricing is half of that. So, will this compete against that product? Is it largely similar but smaller quantity and in terms of distribution , Cola companies have reached strong distribution in this kind of a channel, so how do you intend to compete if you want to take it pan India and big how do you intend to compete in this? Sunil D’Souza: I go back to the fundamental premise of acquisition of NourishCo, which was that we had a good team and a good base infrastructure, and we needed geographical and portfolio expansion. We are in the process of geographical expansion. We've up to 44 plants now and portfolio we're expanding. We've got juice and jelly we've got jelly drinks and now we're just starting to dip our toes exactly in to what you said , the big emerging energy market. Now just as a perspective , you're absolutely right. (A) the cola companies are priced at if I'm not mistaken 20 , in some cases 15 for a different serving size. Our whole logic is that of the cup format. The cup format does two things for us. (A) it is a lower packaging cost and (B) because we are distributed manufacturing our freight cost is low and of course it's a s maller serving size and therefore, we are able to hit a price point. We've launched it in very limited geographies right now to test the concept to see if it works. We are quite confident that it will and if it works then we'll come out with a full-fledged plan on how to expand it across all the geographies. We're still not national. I would say we're about 75%-80% of the country in terms of coverage and that's where we will play. Where we have cup lines , we will come back with an exact plan on how to play it. Early days, I would say wait and watch.

My second question is on NourishCo and India modern trade. You have done well in most other parts of business but when I see NourishCo , it seems much lower than the run rate which you are having. So, 60% growth in Q1 dropping to 25% which is a very big drop. Similarly , India modern trade first quarter growth was 22%. Q2, you have not given number but my sense is around mid-single digit. So why is there such a drop? Is there any impact of the festival shifting in the modern trade, is that reason? But I don't see that impacting your e-commerce business. In fact, ecommerce business India has accelerated significantly in Q2 versus Q1. So, if you could explain all these three aspects. Sunil D’Souza: So Abneesh let me answer your second question first. The reason absolutely as you pointed out for modern trade is a bit of shift of festival s because normally modern trade loads up about 15- 20 days prior to the festival dates and there has been a shift , significant decent amount of shift this year in the festival date. So, we do expect this quarter modern trade to pick up quite well. I don't think there is anything else to it because market shar e wise, we are maintaining market share across all the categories that we play in. E-commerce would have performed better for two reasons, (A) there is not as much loading into the warehouses as modern trade does and the second piece is that there is a significant amount of new launches that we are playing only online and it is not even in modern trade and e-commerce, for example Go fit ACV, a lot of the dry fruits etc. is primarily online. That would be the other factor. But the bigger factor would be exactly what you said is the shift of festival days. So that's the answer to your question number two. On question number one, it is primarily to do with weather. While we did push on despite inclement weather in the first quarter, we had blips in the second quarter when we had unseasonal rains etc. which continued beyond their normal date. But like I said we had said we are setting out an aspirational target of 1,000 crores for NourishCo for the full year and right now we remain committed to that.

United Breweries Limited

United Breweries Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-02-09

Congrats on good volume growth. My first question is on the premium market share and premium volume growth. So it's a good performance. Wanted to understand in FY '25, what will be your expectation in terms of premium volume growth given you're under-indexed versus your pan-India market share. In premium, you are under-indexed. And related question in terms of premium only. How many times can the bottle be reused in premium? I understand Heineken will use mostly new bottles. But in rest of the, say, Ultra and Ultra Max, how many times can the bottle be reused versus your economy bottles? Some color if you can give, that will be useful.

Sure. That's helpful. One follow-up on the premium strategy itself. Your competitors in premium are unlisted, and that gives them an advantage of propping up ad spend without looking at the quarterly results too much. So I want to understand this constraint of yours, that will continue. In that light, what are you doing different versus earlier in terms of -- I understand the Draught beer, which has been lau nched, etcetera. But what is the different strategy you are now employing versus, say, in the past because your market share is much more under-indexed here? So given the constraint of being listed entity, anything you can do different on a strategic level?

Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Godrej Consumer Products Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-01-31

Congrats on good margins and decent volume growth. My first question is on Liquid Detergent. So here, three sub-questions to your overall Fabric Care and Liquid Detergent portfolio. I understand you have been coming out with this disruptive pricing in terms of the powder to liquid. But the issue there is, if it is successful, it gets copied by the other larger players very quickly. Second is, Liquid Detergent is a premium product in India. So, for that kind of a premium customer, is ₹99 pricing relevant? Because he may think that the quality may not meet the standards, plus generally premium customer is a bit more brand loyal. Third, of course, is what is your market share in Fabric Care? Because here, two large MNCs completely dominate. And when you joined, you had rejigged the strategy. You focused on core and where right to win is there. So, Fabric Care, is there a right to win for you? What is the market share? And how do you compete with the two large MNCs?

Sure. My second question is on the disruptive Agarbatti which you have launched. So, few sub-questions there. One is in the past, GCPL has not paid same level of focus on coils versus, say, the higher-end products there. So, in Agarbatti also, it's a lower-end product. I understand it's a ₹1,200 crores market. So, wanted to understand, can you extend this product to coils? Second is, in terms of pricing, how does this compare to the illegal players? And in terms of efficacy, how does this compare to the illegal players?

United Spirits Limited

United Spirits Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-01-24

Hi, thanks. My first question is on the difference in terms of P&A sales growth versus P&A volume growth? So, a few quarters back, it has been more in the 8% to 11% range in terms of difference. This quarter, it's around 5.4%. So is this because pricing is now catching up because in a lot of FMCG, we have seen that. So, in your case, the difference is because of the catch-up in terms of pricing or it's because of the reasons that you mentioned in terms of the demand trends being a bit subdued, which is the main reason here?

Sure. My second follow-up question on demand is in terms of consumer behavior. So Hina did mention that in the upper end, out-of-home consumption is more common now versus at-home. During COVID, that at -home trend had really picked up. So, what is the reason for this? Is it because occasions here are also being cut because out -of-home consumption clearly is more expensive. So why is the customer going for a more expensive experience rather than at-home? What is the reason?

Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2024-01-19

Thanks. My first question is on the premiumization and rural. So currently, two themes, both we are seeing, both are kind of opposite to each other on paper. So, I wanted to understand when you are saying that premiumization is growing 2.5x of the mass end, my specific question is in terms of the rural demand, how is premiumization shaping up? Why I'm asking this is if you see other forms of rural consumption in terms of 2-wheeler and 4 -wheeler data rural is doing well. And obviously, that's a premium consumption, but that's also coming after 4 years of very tepid volumes. It's Y-o-Y good growth, but 4 years, if you see, it's not a good growth in 2- wheeler and 4- wheeler. So , I wanted specific examples in terms of premiumization in rural because in terms of rural slowdown that is completely missed. So could you say whether premiumization is happening there and specific examples will be helpful.

Sure. That's helpful. One follow-up on the rural is, you did say the winter care portfolio has seen volume dip, now winter was delayed last year also, and it was mild last year also in Q3. So would you attribute this dip in winter portfolio to winter? Or will you attribute it to rural slowdown?

Hindustan Unilever Limited CC-Sep23.pdf · 2023-10-19

Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is on Skin Care and Color Cosmetics. So , you have seen double digit growth, which is a good achievement, even Nykaa saw 20% growth in B2C business in Q2. So, my question is, is this growth sustainable a nd how is rural demand in Skin Care given general rural slowdown, is that impacting your double-digit growth in a big way. And second is you briefly alluded to the focused intervention in the new demand cases, could you elaborate that more because currently I understand those will be smaller pieces of your overall Skin Care business. So, is that impacting overall growth in a big way?

Yes, Skin Care and Color Cosmetics double digit growth.

Hindustan Unilever Limited CC-Oct25.pdf ·

Yeah. Thanks. My first question is on the demand side and the GST impact. So, we have seen in cars, for example, the GST-related cuts led to huge buying. Of course, that's a discretionary demand. My specific question is, once everything normalizes, say, start of November, ex of the grammage increase, which will, say, happen in the lower unit packs, do you see customers actually buying more FMCG in terms of volumes? And second is, when I see the populist programs running now in every state, Bihar is going into elections, Rs. 10,000, for example, being given to every woman. So, do you see actually that the FMCG consumption also benefits wherever this happens. Frankly, it is happening in almost every state where elections are happening. So, if you could comment, the Rs. 45,000 crores GST stimulus program, do you think eventually it will lead to uptick in terms of FMCG consumption ex of grammage increase? And second, the populist programs from the state government?

One follow-up question to the demand side only. So, in Q2, two large FMCG companies have come out in terms of results. So, Nestle has not called out GST impact in any of their communication, and they have actually shown the numbers of 10% plus kind of sales growth. So, my specific question here is, has th e GST-related destocking been more in rural areas for you and for the sector? Nestle is almost 75% urban. So, is that helping them? And is that something common to you and to the sector that urban, the GST destocking has been on the lesser side?

Patanjali Foods Limited

Patanjali Foods Limited CC-Dec23.pdf · 2023-02-09

I've got 3 questions. First is on biscuits. So it's a focus segment for you. I wanted to understand 2 things here. One is if I see growth rate this quarter, it is meaningfully slower than in first half, so 9 months growth rate was 24%, while Q3 growth rate was around 15.4%. So that's a significant slowdown and it's your focus category? Second is biscuit is a very diversified portfolio. So here, you are focusing on the mid- and lower end. Or are you focusing more in terms of premiumization? That is the first question.

My second question is on EBITDA margins for Food & FMCG. So one is it's very volatile. So if I see your Q3 margin, that's around 400 bps lower than first half of the same financial year, and your margins have fallen Y-o-Y both for Q3 and for 9 months. So want to understand why you want to focus more on sale of staples because that will be more competitive. Most companies in food and FMCG try to go for a profitable volume growth. So in that context, why not focus on the higher-margin businesses, focus on premiumization than focus on sale of staple?