Questions across 40 calls

Arnab Mitra

Goldman Sachs

Britannia Industries Limited

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

My first question was actually on the GST impact on price point packs. So Rakshit, what we have seen in many other food categories is because of the mathematics of INR 5 and INR 10 pack when the GST goes down, your net realization per pack obviously goes up as a company, of course, assuming transactions are same. So, in my understanding, in noodles, chocolates kind of categories, there has been a significant uplift in value growth because of that. Should the same logic not play out in biscuits also whilst the price issue is over? Or do you think biscuits are already different, and therefore, if you give higher grammage, the transactions can actually drop in terms of the number of packs?

Got it. So, my question actually was should you then not see a significant increase in value growth once the transition has happened? Because as a company, you would realize a lot higher on a per pack basis given the lower GST. And therefore, should we not see a much faster acceleration in growth as things stabilize? I'm not saying going back to normative levels, but should it not be significantly above normative levels given this dynamic?

Britannia Industries Limited CC-Feb26.pdf · 2026-02-11

My first question was actually on market share, where you mentioned about the regional players. Wanted to just understand if there has also been any increased competition from the national players and has Britannia been able to hold its market share versus relative to the other national players? And a related question is, if I look at a lot of the priorities which you mentioned, adjacencies, competing with the regional brands better, e-commerce channels. Do you think you would have to significantly up your investments and more in the sense that can you -- would you be able to sustain your margins here? I think the previous question was more about expansion of margins, but wanted to understand if all of these require investments, which will have to ultimately come out of your current P&L?

Got it. My second and last question is more of a bookkeeping question. So you have mentioned this loss of state finance fiscal incentives to the extent of INR65 crores for this quarter is what I understood. Also, there is like a bumping up of other operating income you've got from one of the state. So should one take as this quarter's other operating income minus that state 1x incentive you've got as more of the run rate going forward? And any discussion with the states of potentially making up for that or it is partially offsetting that loss of incentives?

Britannia Industries Limited CC-Mar25.pdf · 2025-05-12

Varun, my first question was on this quarter. Could you just help us with the split of volume and price growth? And in the light of whatever pricing you have taken, I'm sure some pricing will flow in more in the second -- in the next few quarters. How much of price growth do you expect at this stage for FY '26?

Yes. That's very helpful. The second, actually, just to repeat, just following up on the input cost question. So we broadly know that palm oil and crude has seen some correc tion sequentially. How is your expectation on wheat prices because I know the season is already done. And in that light, would you say that, I mean, whatever input cost deflation we see potentially goes now into improving gross margins back to the historical trend line? Or there could be a possibility of lowering of prices if the current spot prices hold in some of these commodities?

Marico Limited

Marico Limited CC-May26.pdf · 2026-05-05

So congratulations on a great year, Saugata and Pawan. My first question is on Foods. So if I look at the 16% growth, I assume this includes turnover part quarter turnover from the acquisition. So if you could just help me understand how the organic business has done relative to the last couple of quarters? And are you seeing an improvement there and what are the buildings of there for FY '27 as you go ahead in the organic part of the food business?

Got it. So in that sense, like for next year, then I think you spoke about 20% plus growth in Foods, yo u should potentially be able to do a lot more because the organic business also is recovering, and you will get a full year plus I assume there will be a ramp -up in that business. So just wanted to check whether you think the foods growth can be higher because of the M&A also adding to that 20%?

Marico Limited CC-Jun25.pdf · 2025-08-04

Hi, congratulations on a great quarter. My first question is again on the digital brand. So, you have given this enhanced aspiration of 2.5x and also margins going up sharply. Your chart shows a significant jump from where you are today to '27. So, now what you have seen in other digital companies sometimes, is that all the things do not happen together. If you try to pull the margin up, it does affect the growth rate at least to some extent. So, what's giving you the confidence that you can do both which is scale up the top line but take up the percentage margins in some of these businesses?

Just one follow-up on this. I mean so what we have seen again in some of the other digital brands is that this advertising spend which tends to be a really large cost in these businesses they almost become like a variable cost because it's performance marketing which is almost variable. So, are you saying that in your case the way the P&L of these brands look there is actually going to be decent operating leverage on advertising which I assume would be a really large percentage of sales at the early stage when the brand is scaling out?

Marico Limited CC-Dec24.pdf · 2025-01-31

Hi, Saugata and Pawan. Congratulations on a good performance in this tough environment. My first question was on Foods and personal digital-first brands. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems Plix has been a big positive surprise on both sides. So, on the Foods part, my question Email: investor@marico.com Marico Information classification: Official was is it still very ACV driven or how has been the progress in diversifying the portfolio outside ACV, which was I think the original thought also that the company had ? And on the personal care side, that space seems extremely crowded, serums and that space. So, how is Plix managing to grow there? Is it at a big loss? Any separate lstrategythat is working for you?

Just one follow up S augata on this was when you look at FY26 further scaling up mix, would online and ACV itself have a lot of headroom for growth or would you need the new platforms to scale in GT to grow towards maybe 30%-40% or whatever you will do in FY25?

Titan Company Limited

Titan Company Limited CC-Feb26.pdf · 2026-02-11

Congratulations on a great quarter. My first question was on buyer growth, where you mentioned buyer growth is flattish this quarter, but there's also a mention of 45% new buyer contribution, something that, I think, was not mentioned last couple of quarte rs. Are you seeing any improvement in that metric? And how does the square off between not having buyer growth but 45% new buyer contribution -- does it mean that your existing, let's say, loyalty members, that's where the frequency reduction has happened?

Got it. And one follow -on question on this was is there any different trend in studded buyer growth in terms of that trending better than overall buyer growth?

Titan Company Limited CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-11-04

I had a couple of questions. First was actually on CaratLane where your margins have expanded 250 bps to 10%. I wanted to understand, do you see -- I know there's some seasonality in CaratLane margins, but on a year-on-year basis, do you think this trajectory of margin expansion is sustainable and what has driven it? That was my first question. Second is generally consolidated jewellery EBIT growth has been running much higher than the Tanishq EBIT growth, CaratLane as well as International. So should one expect that broad trend to continue? Anything on international, which was lumpy in terms of the growth which may not sustain? So just had one question on CaratLane and one on international jewellery.

Sure. Just one follow-up on CaratLane. So just from what I understood, Saumen, you're saying that gold price could be a headwind, but that's generally a headwind for the entire industry. Otherwise, whatever initiatives would have led to this margin expansi on, those you think are sustainable? Or there were some higher-than-normal margin this quarter because of some other factors. That's one thing I wanted to understand.

Pidilite Industries Limited

Pidilite Industries Limited CC-Feb26.pdf · 2026-02-04

My first question was after a long time, you are seeing some price growth in the stand- alone P&L, revenue growth being 2.5%, 3% ahead of volume growth UVG. So just wanted to understand what are the sources of this price growth? Is it sustainable given that input cost have been benign? Is the growth giving you now confidence to also take some marginal pricing, and can we expect that going ahead also?

My second question was actually regarding water proofing to your comment that you have seen definitely improvement in Dr. Fixit growth. I am just correlating it with some of the paint companies commentary that the repainting cycle has been extending and the industry demand seems very muted in paints? And this is one category which at least to us looks a little close to paints in terms of a lot of times it happens together, the water proofing and the painting. So are you not seeing any impact of that or would you say that your portfolio is more remedial based or like new construction based where the repainting cycle may not be a big factor in waterproofing growth for you?

Emami Limited

Emami Limited CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-11-10

Mohan ji, you have mentioned about the winter loading getting recovered in 3Q, but what about the GST impacted portfolio where there was also destocking? Is that also you feel likely to recover or that may take some more time for the pipelines to come back there?

So Mohan ji, my second question is actually related to that. So if you look at like you will recover for winter loading, you'll recover part of the pipeline, the winter is good, and you also put in these initiatives on Kesh King. So should we not very confidently see double -digit growth in third quarter? I'm just trying to understand, is there any other concern why you said that we could get to high single digit, but not surely into double digit. Just wanted to understand how you're thinking of the overall growth in the third quarter and second half overall?

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-11-03

Hi, team. I had a few questions on the RTD beverage business. So if you could just highlight with the GST rate drops, do you see any fundamental advantage in this category because there is a lot of, I would say, non -- or local players in the segment is what we understand? So do you expect any fundamental improvement in growth because of the GST cut? And the second is that this quarter obviously is quite noisy. There was very bad weather conditions. Other companies have not done well in the segment. But you also would have had some channel adjustment at the end due to the drop in GST. So overall, I mean, how are the pluses and minuses in terms of how should we see a normalized growth in this going ahead? Sunil D’souza: So Arnab, I think channel adjustments, I would question because this is an impulse business. And normally -- by the way, in season, I would say there are -- for the high -volume outlets, there are multiple deliveries in a day, not only in a week. So inventory is never a big -- or never should be a big thing in this business, number one. And therefore, like I said, we did not see too much of an inventory adjustment in RTD, and that's why we delivered the growth, A. B, in terms of competition, I would say the 5% does help us because, as you said, we will not play in carbonated soft drinks. And carbonated and/or caffeinated soft drinks continue to remain in the high GST bracket. So from that perspective, affordability is definitely an option here. Actually speaking, in water, for example, we've dropped prices. The INR10 bottle is now INR9, INR20 bottle is INR18. So we will probably look at upsizing at some point. But yes, compared to carbonated and/or caffeinated beverages, affordability is a strong point now.

The other thing is the competitive intensity continues to be high. Other than water, where you've done well, the other parts of the portfolio has really, I think, struggled in that initial Campa aggression. How are those segments doing? Any steps further that you need to do to get consistent growth there? Sunil D’souza: So Arnab, broadly, you've seen the business come back to normalcy with a 25% volume growth. And we had consciously taken those price drops last year, right, in line with Campa. So I would say broadly as long as you are clear of your value proposition, you are clear about your brand promise and your product acceptance with the consumer, making sure that the value proposition to the retailer stays right, which is a critical piece we've seen us coming back. I would say you would only see growth accelerating on the non -water portfolio, if you may, on RTD going forward.

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Jun25.pdf · 2025-07-23

My first question is actually again on the tea business. See, in the last couple of years, one year was a deflation year, one was a inflation year. In both the years, the branded industry did not do very well in terms of volumes. So anything that you think has to be fundamentally changed here to get back the growth because now you're getting into a deflation year again, where obviously, the competitive strength of the unorganized or the regional players becomes a little higher. So do you worry about the volume growth not coming back to some reasonable level of mid - single-digit that you have historically spoken about? And in that context, do you still feel comfortable taking the margins back to that 34%, 35% levels? Sunil D’Souza: So Arnab, here's the thing, right? We've -- I would say mid- to longer term, we have said mid - single-digit volume, plus a couple of basis points to ramp up and go to a slightly higher number on the total value. So just to put it in perspective, if I dial back, my December quarter was 10% growth, which was 7% volume, 3% value. My March quarter was 9%, w hich was 2% volume and 7% value. And right now, we're at 12%, which is 1% volume and 11% value, right? So this volume value, I think you will keep on seeing the whole thing move. I do think going forward, now you'll see the value coming down and the volume going up. And I do think, as, a ) prices stabilize and more importantly, as tea costs go down and there is reindexing, you should start seeing volumes start to pick up towards the mid -single digit. But overall, I would not change my guidance of overall, I would say between 6% to 7 -8% total value growth. That's number one. Number two, to your question of market share swinging on the upside or downside, I think the most -- this thing that we had seen was during COVID. But you have to remember, that was driven by 2, 3 pieces. A ) was the fact that prices had run up very quickly, and therefore , if I'm not mistaken, it was 60%, 70% increase in double quick time. That had put pressure on working capital for the smaller players and therefore, an issue on supply chain, A. B) because of COVID, their ability to move product from Assam down to the different markets, Western India, South, wherever they were operating, that was a challenge, and therefore, there were supply chain gaps. Right now, the prices moving up or down are moving up or down very gradually. So I don't expect that market shares will change dramatically because of prices moving up or down. They will change if we don't reindex our prices very quickly, especially when it goes down, and that is what I talked about. I think margins will come back to normal. As I said, between 3 4% to 37% is a normative operating margin for us. And this is -- my gross margin is more like marginal contribution because it includes all variable freight, et cetera. So on ce it comes into that level, then we will have to give up pricing because I don't think we can go beyond this without losing share, which I don't want to do.

Okay. Understood. Sunil, the second question was again on Capital Foods. So my questi on was you spoke about the transitory issues. Did this lead to an offtake loss also or this was basically supply chain primary loss and consumer offtake was okay? And in that context, therefore, do you think that you can recover part of what you didn't sel l this quarter because the consumer was still buying? Or there was actually a loss of con sumer sales in this quarter? And the second part of that question is, I think you partly managed -- answered it, but all the issues you think are largely over in the -- at the end of 1Q and we should be normal in the 2Q on the supply chain? Sunil D’Souza: So, a) I would think most of the issues are over. We've still got to crack the supply chain for the cup noodles, for example, right? And just to give you a perspecti ve, there are two ways of doing cup noodles, put the same pack in a cup and I mean, put a cover on it, which is not the way noodles should be served. The cake has to be cut in a particular manner, put in it and then seasoning applied and therefore, the rig ht taste come through. We are right now piloting the line, that's probably the last piece to be tied up there. So that's number one. Number two, there was marginal offtake impact because noodles, for example, we couldn't supply enough and therefore, I would say, opportunity loss. But my secondaries grew by about 22-23%. And from that perspe ctive, there was no consumer loss per se. And that's why we remain confident of coming back to the 30% plus growth levels that we've talked about.

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Mar25.pdf · 2025-04-23

Hi. My first question, Sunil, was on the Capital F oods and Organic India business. So how do you see this business grow in FY26 now that the integration has been completed? In terms of revenue, I think when the acquisition happened, you had an aspiration to grow this at 30%. Do you think that kind of growth rate is something that the business can actually have? And also on the margin synergy side, have you already netted some of the margin benefits or they are more likely to come over the next couple of years? Sunil D’Souza: So, Arnab, let me comment about the margins first. I think broadly, most of the margins are in the bag. And we are seeing close to business case margins, gross margins coming through. And of course, I mean, apart from that, below the line, the entire synergies on S&D, logistics, procurement, all that coming through very nicely. On the top line, yes, we had guided for 30% growth and we remain confident. As I said, we were probably behind by a quarter from where we started because different channels, different outlets, different buying frequencies, different merchandising skills, different competitors, it took us a bit of time to learn. But I think now we are fairly confident of having, let me say, got fully inducted into the business. And therefore, it is now about expanding distribution, portfolio and making sure we fire the marketing guns.

And just a related question on the instant noodles launch, the choice of lau nching at INR10, which is where kind of the lowest price point in the urban market. Are you -- should we see this as your attempt to -- would you like to go very deep and wide in instant noodles, given that it's a very big category or it's a part of a portfolio extension and it might take time for it to really contribute in a meaningful way to growth? Sunil D’Souza: So let me say, A, instant noodles is a large category. I don't think we are going to take it head on in terms of the category itself. We do believe Desi Chinese and the Ching’s brand has robust credentials to carve out a decent enough space in that segment. B, the INR10 at 60 grams is what we are going in, has got a pretty decent margins also. So it is not significantly dilutive to our whole story, gives a very strong top line and a decent margins with a differentiated play.

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED CC-Dec24.pdf · 2025-01-30

My first question actually was on tea margins. If you could just h elp us understand over the next 2, 3 quarters until the next crop comes in, what do you expect tea margins to do in terms of year-on-year impact? And do you think the industry will take sequential pricing? Or do you wait for the next crop where if it doesn 't, as you rightly said, if it doesn't come off their pricing would happen then? Sunil D’Souza: So let me answer your second part of your question first. I can't second guess the industry. All I can promise you that I will remain competitive. I will drive volume and value growth, yes? That's number one. Number two, like I said, the brunt of the price increases was felt in this quarter. As we go forward, because of the past pricing that we have taken, tea cost -- input cost is not going to change, but some of the pricing which you've taken towards the later half of the last quarter is going to -- and some of it which will take now will start to flow through, and therefore, it will get eased out. But it will remain under pressure. We do expect this pressure t o continue till probably end of Q1, early Q2 until the new fl ush comes in, assuming that it will be normal. But, yes, as a normative margins which the industry has operated in, we are roughly off by at least 60% of that. So I do expect either price increases in case the tea costs don't change or tea cost goes down and therefore, I mean, we get a little bit of more breathing space. But, Ashish, would you want to add anything?

Sure. That's very helpful. My second question was on the RTD business. You've seen a good improvement here with the changes or the actions you've taken. Wanted to understand, is the competitive environment here stable? Are you seeing further intensity from some of the new entrants? And do you think what you've done is sufficient to get you back to reve nue growth, let's say, a few quarters down the line as you see it? Sunil D’Souza: So here's the couple of things on the RTD business, right? The reason why we are in the cups business at INR 10 is because the unit economics work. I'm not sure -- at least I don't fathom, and I can't unde rstand how unit economics will work in any other package with a large capex and large freight, right? And therefore, I remain convinced that we've got to stick to our strategy and continue to execute. Now, beyond I NR 10, I mean if you expect consumer -- competitors to really go below that and say more aggressive, it's possible, I'm not sure that will happen. So we are geared for the long haul to fight the battle at INR 10 and move the business into profitability, and we will do that.

Godrej Consumer Products Limited

Godrej Consumer Products Limited CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-10-31

Yeah. hi, Sudhir. First question was on the GST-related destocking. So do you expect the trade pipelines to normalize within December quarter from wherever they were before the GST transition? And the related question is, you know, when we talk about high-single-digit volume growth for the full year, we are effectively talking about a double-digit plus in the second half. Is that delta largely going to come from soaps according to you where you've had a negative high-single-digit base you may have a strong growth going ahead? Or are you seeing other areas where these are also accelerating?

And the GST restocking, do you expect it to happen within a quarter itself or it could take more time?

Godrej Consumer Products Limited CC-Jun25.pdf · 2025-08-07

Yes, hi, team. So I think my first ques tion, again, actually is on soaps . So what I wanted to understand is whenever you've historically seen this very large decline in volumes in soaps like 8%, 10% or high single digit declines in any year, because long term, there is still some low single digit growth in the category? Do you expect volume growth to come back to a reasonably good number at some stage to make up for this decline o r does the usage actually drop and does not recover when you take these grammage cuts? So what I'm asking is once the base normalizes, do you just think you get to a zero kind of a territory or there is a year when you actually make up and therefore get to the long term trend line growth of the industry?

Got it, Sudhir. And the s econd question related on soaps is, I heard your answer on market shares, but sometimes nielsen share can be a bit off short term. So this quarter again was the first quarter in a long time where I think HUL grew slightly better than GCPL on soap volumes. So anything you read from that in terms of your on ground understanding of how things have gone after the formulation change or pricing actions or do you not worry about it could be a quarterly thing that one company would have a slightly higher number? I just wanted to get a sense of anything that worries you on the competitive performance in soaps?

Varun Beverages Limited

Varun Beverages Limited CC-Nov25.pdf · 2025-10-29

Thanks for taking my question. My first question was on the Carlsberg arrangement. If you could just help us understand what is the kind of commercial terms of the transaction? We know that beer is a capex heavy business. Would it involve you doing end -to-end everything in the markets that you're testing? Or it's just distribution and somebody else does the manufacturing? So, just wanted some sense on the commercial terms that you think here.

Sure. And sir, the other question was in these markets where you've got the Carlsberg distribution arrangement, does Carlsberg have any existing business or these are white spaces for the brand right now?

United Spirits Limited

United Spirits Limited CC-Jun25.pdf · 2025-08-14

This relates to the top end of the P&A where you mentioned that the growth trends are still very tepid. And I think our initial diagnosis was a macro issue, consumer is not spending there and also, we have a slightly high base coming out of COVID. But now that it's continued for a long time, I was wondering what do you think you need to do the growth back there? Any changes in price laddering, marketing? Anything happening on the competitive side, which is constraining our growth there? Because that's, I think, the main delta you can deliver on the top line if -- so just your thoughts on how to revive that part of the growth.

In terms of affordability in the category, any challenge -- is that one of the feedback? I don't know if in your consumer research that the price gap is quite large and that is there's a certain consumer upgrade, which is not happening? Or do you think pri cing is something which is not an impediment in terms of getting the growth back here?

Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited CC-Jun25.pdf · 2025-07-31

Hi. My first question actually is on the F oods business, where you've seen the largest swing in the UVG from negative mid-single-digit to a positive mid-single- digit. I just wanted to understand, is it the T ea or the N utrition business which is driving this mid-single-digit growth, or are there other parts of the business which have grown strongly, which we don't normally talk about, which has driven this growth? Why I'm asking this question is from your commentary. It seems the Nutrition and the T ea business is still maybe flattish to low growth. So, I just wanted to understand where it is coming from, and is it sustainable, you think, in the coming quarters?

Got it. Thanks for that answer. My second question was o n the overall growth outlook. So, I think that the catalysts are all there, but your own data or the Nielsen data doesn't show a significant growth acceleration in the industry. But you, of course, have access to other sources of data, household panel, and those kinds of things. So, are you getting a sense that there is actually some pickup starting to happen on the ground? Or is it still that catalysts are there and we hope that a pickup would happen at a macro level? And also in that light, just wanted to understand in the outlook slide, last time you had a comment saying that gradual improvement as the year goes ahead. This time, you don't ha ve that comment. Anything to read into that in terms of your confidence on how this growth could shape up from this decently good 4% number that you had this quarter?

Jubilant Foodworks Limited

Jubilant Foodworks Limited CC-Dec24.pdf · 2025-02-12

Yes. Hi, Sameer and team. And, again, congratulations on a great set of numbers. Now that we have seen good evidence of your strategies working out in terms of consumer traction, would it be reasonable to expect these levels of LFLs to sustain going ahead ? Or are there some base effects and other things which we should be cognizant of in terms of how we expect this to move ahead? And also a linked question to this is, as you rightly said, you have invested a lot to get this growth. Would you want to like dial back that investment a little bit, focus on margins and therefore that could be a reason why the LFL could be a tad lower than what you have delivered this quarter going ahead?

Thanks for that detailed reply. My second question was more of a bookkeeping question. So, we are seeing a gap in the sequential trend in the pre-IndAS and the post-IndAS EBITDA margin. Could you just help me understand what has driven the trajectory chan ge? And is it going to continue going ahead given how the accounting works? Or this should like start converging the trajectory, the direction would also start converging?