Biryani is set to get its own valuation. Devyani International, the largest franchisee of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) quick-service restaurants (QSRs) in India, is considering the acquisition of Sky Gate Hospitality, which operates restaurants under the brand Biryani By Kilo (BBK), it said in a statement to BSE on Monday.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Consumer Products, has said in the company's annual report for FY25 that India remains one of the bright spots of economic growth amid a volatile global environment. He said India's long-term growth was underpinned by strong demographic and economic fundamentals as well as structural reforms.
With crude palm oil prices on the rise, companies have started to jack up rates of soaps and edible oils in order to pass on the hike to consumers. Crude palm oil, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of some consumer goods, saw a price rise of 45.2 per cent in the last three months. One of the country's largest consumer companies, Hindustan Unilever, said it has already started to take price increases in the skin cleansing category.
Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are expected to see muted topline growth, with uneven spread of the monsoon impacting demand. Rural demand recovery, too, remains elusive in the July-September quarter. Brokerages expect volumes to remain steady in the quarter on a sequential basis.
Higher inflation has again become a matter of concern for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. After prices of commodities like sugar and wheat moved higher and stabilised at those levels, the crude oil too surged, adding to FMCG firms' worries. Besides, a dry spell in August in the ongoing monsoon season impacted rural demand.
rediffGURU Dr Ganesh Natarajan offers advice on how to build and scale your first start-up.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday reported a decline of 3.35 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 2,475 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025.
Patanjali Foods Ltd on Thursday said food regulator FSSAI has directed the company to recall a specified batch of packed red chilli powder due to non-conformity with food safety norms. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order in this regard on January 13, the company said in a regulatory filing.
In India, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) majors continue to hold sway, with incumbent brands cornering 65 per cent of the market share, shows a Bain & Company report. While identifying the continued preference of Indians for incumbent brands, the report says that the dominance of general trade in the country has allowed national brands to maintain their supremacy. The low penetration of e-commerce in the country has also helped large brands.
The recent equity market weakness has sobered up investor mood, but the coming festive season is keeping analysts upbeat on stocks related to the consumption basket. Among the lot, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and consumer electronics segments are expected to do well over the next few months, and investors should thus selectively take bets in these pockets, analysts suggest. "We expect good volume growth for the FMCG sector during the festive season with some improvement in rural demand.
Listed paint majors posted another lacklustre showing in the January-March quarter (Q4) of 2024-25 (FY25), with average revenue growth under 3 per cent. Sales were weighed down by Asian Paints - the market leader and the only major to report a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline.
Sluggish rural demand along with higher inflation is set to mute revenue growth of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector at 7-9 per cent this fiscal and the next compared to 8.5 per cent in the previous fiscal, a report said. Almost 40 per cent of the Rs 4.7-lakh-crore sector come from the hinterland markets, which have been hit by high inflation, low wages and high job losses since the Covid pandemic. Revenue growth of the FMCG sector will be muted at 7-9 per cent this fiscal and the next compared to 8.5 per cent in the last, while volume growth will be just about 1-2 per cent, down from 2.5 per cent last fiscal, Crisil said in a report on Monday.
Market reaction to the Union Budget was overall neutral. The income tax "gift" wasn't enough to move the needle. There was some apparent rationalisation of Customs duty structure as well as cuts on import duties of some key components for the telecom and IT industry and duty cuts on vehicle imports. Other proposals related to development of agriculture and rural economy and renewables seem to be generally positive.
Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) continued to be the most sought after sector by job-seekers, a study by the human resources services firm CIEL HR Services said on Thursday. Mumbai topped the list with the highest job demand in the FMCG segment while Masters in Business Administration degree was the most preferred qualification by employers. "For freshers and mid-level employees, the sector is perceived to be offering the most promising job prospects," the study said.
The FMCG sector is generally considered to be a safe haven during difficult times as people never stop buying soap and toothpaste. However, weak rural and semi-urban demand has been a factor since the lockdowns of 2020-21 while rising inflation has also impacted margins. While the FMCG majors have survived on the basis of price hikes and good management practices, they have seen growth slowdowns and experienced margins being squeezed as raw materials and transport costs rose. The FMCG sector witnessed positive volume growth in the fourth quarter of the 2022-23 financial year (Q4FY23) after five consecutive quarters of decline, and the rebound in demand was led by urban markets.
Banks have outperformed the broader market in the past six months and most of the leading lenders have given positive returns to investors compared to a negative return delivered by benchmark indices.
It may be a little early to cheer the recovery in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space as a deceleration in discretionary demand, after the festival season, may offset fragile rural recovery, analysts have cautioned. "The overall demand environment for staples remains muted, while discretionary demand trends have seen some deceleration after the festival season. "We believe margins in staples have bottomed out, but we expect only a gradual uptick with the ongoing softening in raw material prices.
Irregular rainfall and a pick-up in commodity costs are expected to weigh on the demand and margins of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Most companies reported a sharp expansion in gross margins in the April-June quarter (first quarter, or Q1) of 2023-24 (FY24), given the lower prices of key raw materials and earlier price hikes. Furthermore, there were expectations that cost savings being passed on could reflect in volume growth going forward. However, these hopes could be dashed if demand recovery, especially in the rural segment, stalls, and gains on the raw material front start to recede.
Marico reported consolidated revenue growth of 20 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY25. Domestic revenue surged 23 per cent Y-o-Y, while volume growth was 7 per cent. International growth stood at 11 per cent (16 per cent in constant currency growth).
From the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors were among the major laggards. HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Titan, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, State Bank of India and Mahindra & Mahindra were the gainers.
'Spending by the middle class is limited with a focus on savings. However, there is buoyancy at the top-end.'
From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Zomato, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.
White-collar hiring activity in December witnessed a 9 per cent increase compared to the same period of the previous year, driven by high-skill and strategic roles, a report said on Thursday. According to Naukri JobSpeak, the index reached an impressive 2,651 points in December 2024, reflecting a robust 9 per cent year-on-year growth, a promising sign for the year ahead.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Wednesday reported a 19.18 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,989 crore in the December quarter.
From the Sensex pack, Zomato jumped nearly 5 per cent, followed by Titan which climbed almost 4 per cent. IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.
Renewed inflationary pressures, led by a spike in prices of vegetables and cereals, have cast a spell on the equity markets in the past month. The BSE Sensex and Nifty50 have declined up to 2 per cent each during the period, clipping the 13 per cent rally from the March lows, shows data from ACE Equity. Investors typically consider shares of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies as defensive bets, putting their weight behind them in a falling market.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Monday said its board has approved the demerger of the ice cream business, which owns brands such as Kwality Wall's, Cornetto and Magnum, into an independent listed entity.
At the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries earlier this week, Isha Ambani, director at Reliance Retail Ventures, announced that the company is foraying into the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space. But analysts say that only time will tell if this will lead to a disruption in India's FMCG market. While Reliance Retail's initial strategy is to take its own brands, which it currently sells at its own supermarkets and hypermarkets, to general trade, it is also looking at acquisitions.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Adani Ports & SEZ, Axis Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan and Bajaj Finance were the major gainers. Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Zomato, Tata Motors, and IndusInd Bank were the laggards.
Brokerages expect a further slowdown in Indian firms' revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY25, following low single-digit growth in the preceding three quarters, as factors like weak consumer demand and credit growth linger on.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in rural areas witnessed a sequential recovery in the latter half of December, according to data by retail intelligence firm Bizom. Also, demand witnessed in the previous month compared to November was higher from tier-3 cities than mega cities. Overall demand from rural areas declined 0.2 per cent on a month-on-month basis in December while it was down 17 per cent in November, according to Bizom's data.
Feeble demand in rural areas of the country has affected sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in September as compared to August, which saw heavy stocking ahead of the festival season, according to the data of Bizom, a retail intelligence platform. Sales in rural India fell 14.3 per cent while urban sales growth stood at 1.1 per cent in September as compared to the previous month. Overall FMCG sales fell by 9.6 per cent in September as compared to August.
Shares of ITC Hotels Ltd, the demerged hotels business of FMCG conglomerate ITC Ltd, listed on the stock exchanges on Wednesday. The stock listed at Rs 188 on the BSE, while on the NSE it began the trade at Rs 180. Later the stock declined 5 per cent to Rs 178.60 on the BSE.
Even as raw material prices start cooling off from their peaks, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies' margins are expected to remain under pressure at least in the next quarter. This is because commodity prices continue to remain high year-on-year (YoY). Consumer companies will also continue to increase rates as they have been taking price hikes in a staggered manner. They have not yet passed the entire price increase of raw materials to consumers.
Regional and local fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands are gaining momentum at the cost of national brands for the second quarter in a row. Consumer brands are now losing out on share, especially at the mass end of the market. Local brands have been able to capture market share as prices of raw materials are lower.
The country's largest retailer Reliance Industries on Monday announced that it will enter the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business this year as part of its expansion plan. Addressing the 45th AGM of Reliance Industries on Monday, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) Director Isha Ambani said: "This year, we will launch our FMCG goods business". The objective of this business will be to develop and deliver products and solve every Indian's daily needs, with high-quality products at affordable pricing, she said while addressing Reliance Industries' annual general meeting.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Dabur's pre-quarterly update for Q3FY25 disappointed the market with the share dropping by 3.9 per cent. Growth was slower than expected and inflation hit margins. The management said that the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) consumption in rural markets was resilient and continued to grow faster than in urban markets.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty stayed on the back foot for the second straight session on Friday as investors offloaded FMCG, IT and teck stocks amid a weak opening in European markets. Selling pressure in index heavyweight Reliance Industries also added to the weak trend in equities. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 223.01 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 62,625.63.
Demand for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) fell in April owing to lower stocking by kiranas, according to the data from Bizom. Kiranas stocked lower quantities in April as they resorted to heavy stocking in March. Sales in value terms were down 8.4 per cent in the month as against the same period last year while on a month-on-month basis, they declined 17 per cent.
