The biggest headwind to the consumption story in FY23 is a sharp decline in government subsidies on food, fertiliser and fuel, and overall decline in revenue expenditure net of interest payments. This, analysts say, will adversely impact purchasing power of households at the lower end of the income pyramid, translating into lower spending on consumer goods and services.
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High retail inflation is exerting pressure on households to cut expenses wherever possible.
Talks on with P&G, HUL, Patanjali, among others to push their products via 250,000 common centres
As rural demand tapers, companies are back at the drawing board, firming up plans to beat the unexpected slowdown in sales.
The FMCG market is gearing up for a boom time again with the onset of three-month festive period spanning Dussehra and Diwali, which had brought in an additional revenue of Rs 844 crore (Rs 8.44 billion) last year.
Equity benchmark index Sensex on Wednesday crashed over 900 points to sink below the 73,000 level due to widespread selling pressure amid a sharp fall in smallcap and midcap indices. Besides, deep losses in utility, energy and metal stocks and recent selling by foreign investors added to the gloom, analysts said. Benchmark indices started the session on a positive note, but the selling intensified during afternoon trade, with all sectoral indices ending in the red.
There has been an uptick in interest in the FMCG sector after a long time and results were pretty good this quarter.
Enthused by robust financial performance and attractive valuations, foreign investors increased their exposure to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies such as Britannia, Hindustan Unilever and Godrej Consumers Products in April-June this year.
FMCG sector analysts say that due to excise free zones, impact of the excise duty hike will be limited, except for Hindustan Lever. The sector wants impetus for rural income generation and no hike in service tax.
If excise duties are revised upwards, it will affect the FMCG sector, which is witnessing sequential rise in its input costs.
Indian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) players are once again on the prowl to acquire companies, as the economy picks up.
Domestic customers will get access to high-quality Swiss products such as watches, chocolates, biscuits, and clocks at lower prices as India will phase out customs duties under its trade pact with the EFTA bloc on these goods over a period of time. India and the four-European nation bloc EFTA signed a trade and economic partnership agreement (TEPA) on Sunday to boost trade and investments between the two regions. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Domestic customers will get access to high-quality Swiss products such as watches, chocolates, biscuits, and clocks at lower prices as India will phase out customs duties under its trade pact with the EFTA bloc on these goods over a period of time. India and the four-European nation bloc EFTA signed a trade and economic partnership agreement (TEPA) on Sunday to boost trade and investments between the two regions. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Salaries are performance-linked and FY12 was good on both counts; now, persistent inflation and patchy rains show on rural market.
Even as banks and finance companies are reporting record-high earnings, their weighting in the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index has seen a downward trajectory. Investors expect a stronger performance from other sectors in the new year. Currently, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) companies collectively hold a weighting of 34.5 per cent, down from 36.7 per cent at the end of December 2022 and a record high of 40.6 per cent at the end of December 2019. This represents the sector's lowest weighting in the index since December 2021 when it stood at 33.7 per cent.
Exemptions on the personal income tax would increase the income in the hands of the consumers, thereby increasing spending.
Dabur India has been the worst performer in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) space this year (CY23), posting a 1 per cent decline even as its peer index, the Nifty FMCG, has delivered returns of over 29 per cent in this period.
Lower income groups earning less than Rs 100,000 a year are yet to recover as are those earning between Rs 100,000 and Rs 200,000.
'Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry, and we are yet to see any revival in demand.'
Among Sensex shares, HCLTech, Asian Paints, Maruti, JSW Steel, TCS, SBI, ITC and Bharti Airtel were the major losers. On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, L&T and Wipro were the major gainers.
The Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of 31.27 per cent of additional stake in Religare Enterprises by four entities of Dabur India promoter Burman family, enabling them to become majority owners in the financial services firm. The fair trade regulator allowed the four entities to acquire Religare's 5.27 per cent through stock market purchase and another 26 per cent through an open offer.
'Today's engineering graduates have to learn the skills to solve problems which is actually a higher order skill.'
The "asset-right" strategy, reiterated by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri during the company's 112th annual general meeting (AGM) on August 11, received a thumbs up from the analysts. They, however, believe that sustained earnings growth and synergies with the demerged hotel's vertical will help the stock break out from the ongoing consolidation. "The stock is expected to consolidate between Rs 420 and Rs 450 in the near future.
FMCG stocks have underperformed the market, falling 2.2 per cent so far in 2014.
ITC Limited is planning to aggressively scale up its FMCG business and expand the portfolio by staging an entry into the home and personal care market, in an attempt to be the leading FMCG player in the country.
According to Nielsen, rural growth has plunged to a low 5 per cent in the third quarter of quarter from a high 20 per cent a year ago. This has for the first time in seven years rural growth has fallen below urban levels.
After a sharp fall in the share prices of HDFC Bank and other private sector lenders in the past three days, the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector weighting in the Nifty50 has slipped to a seven-year low of 32.03 per cent, down from nearly 36.6 per cent at the end of March 2023 and 34.5 per cent at the end of December 2023.
A major reason for the high growth in advertising spends as these companies are keen on higher volume
Mutual fund equity schemes which only invest in sectors such as banks and fast moving consumer products (FMCG) have emerged top performers across product categories in 2012. But these schemes face stiff challenges to repeat such outperformance in 2013.
British multinational BAT PLC on Tuesday said it plans to sell up to 3.5 per cent stake in India's ITC Ltd to institutional investors through a block trade. In a statement, British American Tobacco PLC (BAT), the single largest shareholder in ITC Ltd (ITC), said its wholly-owned subsidiary Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd (TMI) intends to sell up to 43,68,51,457 ordinary shares in the Indian diversified entity to institutional investors by way of an accelerated bookbuild process (block trade), subject to customary closing conditions.
Among Sensex gainers, Power Grid jumped the most by 4.16 per cent after its board approved an investment of Rs 656 crore in transmission projects. Private lenders HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank were also among lead gainers. NTPC, Nestle and Hindustan Unilever also ended the session with gains.
The biggest bounce is in the realty sector, where the industry index jumped 80%. There's been a turnaround also in automobiles and ancillaries (up 45%). The pharma and health care indices have a welcome return of roughly 35%.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Thursday reported a 6.9 per cent rise in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 2,556 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2023, riding on a gradual recovery in the FMCG industry despite operating in challenging environment. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,391 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, Hindustan Unilever Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Consolidated total income in the first quarter stood at Rs 15,679 crore as against Rs 14,757 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India, ITC, Nestle, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards. In contrast, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Titan were the gainers.
Players like UltraTech Cement more expensive than ITC and HUL; others catching up fast.
FMCG analyst at SSKI Nikhil Vora believes that the next round of growth for the FMCG sector will get powered by a lot of front-ended investment by companies.
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