The FMCG sector has the potential to deliver above-average growth over the long term
As urban shoppers tighten their belts, companies are betting on rural consumers and smaller packs to fire up sales.
Having learnt their Maggi lessons hard way in 2015, the FMCG sector is desperately looking for a brighter new year with hopes pinned on revival in rural demand.
As wholesalers largely failed to meet GST norms, companies were in a fix. According to industry veterans like Sunil Duggal, chief executive of Dabur, the hazard led many to look beyond third-party distribution and take the leap to cover unattended markets directly.
Markets pared early gains to end lower on Tuesday amid selling pressure in IT, FMCG and oil shares.
Some of the country's leading FMCG companies they include Nestle, Coca-Cola and Tata Coffee - are investing over Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion) in the next few months to expand capacity or for inorganic growth.
White-collar hiring witnessed an 8.6 per cent annual decline in September, following a negative trend in sectors including IT, BPO or ITES and FMCG, a report said on Monday. On a month-on-month basis, however, there has been a growth of almost 6 per cent in job postings. In September, there were 2,835 white-collar job postings, down by 8.6 per cent compared to the same month last year when 3,103 jobs were posted, according to Naukri.com's monthly 'Naukri JobSpeak Index'.
Most market analysts are expecting the momentum to shift towards 'quality' and 'growth' stocks in 2024 after the outperformance of 'value' stocks over the past three years. 'Value' stocks are generally well-established companies with steady profits that are trading at a discount to what they are intrinsically worth. Companies in sectors such as commodities, industrials, commercial vehicles and public sector units (PSUs) fall in this bracket.
Increase in tax exemption limit by Rs 50000 is positive for the FMCG sector, as it will leave more discretionary income in the hands of consumers.
Over the past year, Amul has undergone a transformative journey, evolving from a dairy-centric entity to a comprehensive foods company. Since 2022, PepsiCo India, too, has embarked on extensive launches in the food category. Not to be left behind, ITC, which has been introducing an average of 100 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products across categories every year, has also launched a number of packaged food items.
National brands prefer the acquisition route since the southern market is culturally different, reports T E Narasimhan from Chennai.
FIIs have offloaded shares of Bajaj Corp, Nestle, Jyothy Laboratories and Britannia.
ITC highlighted that legal cigarettes account for 9 per cent of tobacco consumption in India, but 80 per cent of tax collection is from tobacco products. While illicit cigarettes account for roughly one-third of the market share, legal cigarette volumes have recovered to around 96 per cent of peak FY13 volumes, after dipping to 70 per cent in FY21.
Even as large fast moving consumer goods companies like Hindustan Unilever and ITC struggle with their volume growth, mid-tier FMCG companies like Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Dabur and Nestle have reported strong spurts in volumes as they focus on inorganic growth and rural markets, according to industry experts.
Benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 344 points while Nifty closed above the 16,000 level in choppy trade on Friday, snapping the four-day falling streak on renewed buying interest from foreign funds and firm global trends. The 30-share BSE barometer climbed 344.63 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 53,760.78. During the day, it jumped 395.22 points or 0.73 per cent to 53,811.37.
Slowdown? If there is one, producers of colas, tea, biscuits and toiletries -- or fast moving consumer (FMCG) goods -- haven't noticed. All of them are reporting substantial growth in sales volumes in the first three months of 2009. A major reason for this surge in sales is changing income demographics -- newer buyers in small towns are opting for branded products. Also, price cuts have reduced differentials between premium and economy products, inducing consumers to
Second quarter numbers hint at a rocky road ahead with a slowdown in discretionary categories set to continue.
With a growing penetration of the Internet, which reaches to rural areas of the country, the retailers would be able to deepen their market
With 21 states having implemented value-added tax and eight states still to adopt it, the impact of the new tax regime is seen largely positive for sectors like FMCG, paper and pharmaceuticals.
In a relief to FMCG major Dabur, two of its foreign subsidiaries, Dabur International and Dermoviva Skin Essentials, have been removed as a defendant in multiple lawsuits filed in a US court over allegations that their hair-relaxer products caused ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and other related health issues. However, lawsuits filed against its third international subsidiary Namaste Laboratories LLC, would continue before the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to a statement from Dabur on Wednesday. Dabur International and Dermoviva were removed and got relief in the multiple suits due to lack of jurisdiction as they have not either manufactured, marketed, distributed or sold hair relaxer products in the US, it added.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty jumped over 1 per cent on Wednesday amid foreign funds turning net buyers of domestic equities after a long gap and positive opening in European stock markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark index climbed 616.62 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 53,750.97. During the day, it rallied 684.96 points or 1.28 per cent to 53,819.31.
Indian stock markets are expected to be driven mostly by global factors this week amid a lack of local triggers and earnings season largely coming to an end, say analysts. Crude oil prices, rupee movement and US Federal Reserve meeting minutes to be released this week will also influence the market sentiment. "With the earnings season behind us, global cues would largely dictate the trend in the coming week," Ajit Mishra, SVP - technical research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.
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The thrust on agriculture, removal of Fringe Benefit Tax etc should help improve the earnings of the FMCG sector
ITC's results for the January-March quarter (Q4) were strong, with robust growth in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment and a good performance in hospitality. The tobacco division's performance was on expected lines, with double-digit volume growth, helped by reclaiming of market share from the smuggled trade. There was 60 per cent growth in non-cigarette earnings before interest and tax (Ebit), despite a relatively weak performance in paperboards.
'What will matter in 2024 from the market standpoint is the direction of interest rates globally, as well as in India.' 'The results of the general elections will also be keenly watched.'
Foreign investors made a significant turnaround and injected over Rs 1,500 crore into Indian equities in February, reversing the massive outflows seen in the preceding month, primarily due to robust corporate earnings and positive economic growth. Additionally, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) continued to be bullish on the debt markets as they put in over Rs 22,419 crore during the month under review, data with the depositories showed. Looking ahead to March, the outlook for FPI flow appears promising, provided the current economic trajectory and corporate performance sustain their positive momentum, potentially continuing to attract foreign investment into Indian equities, Mayank Mehraa, smallcase manager and principal partner at Craving Alpha, said.
Winds of change are blowing across the fast-moving consumer goods market.
Companies in the FMCG space are increasing their focus on herbal and ayurvedic category in India
Watchmaker Ajanta India Ltd has forayed into the fast-moving consumer goods sector with a gamut of consumer care products and expected to close the current fiscal with a turnover of Rs 120 crore.
Despite a dull macro-economic environment almost all the FMCG companies posted a decent volume growth.
The booming recruitment environment that B-schools experienced in 2007 could be back on the campuses next year as the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is planning around 40 per cent increase in the number of pre-placement offers (PPOs).
ITC, Godrej Agrovet, DCM Shriram and other companies expanding in rural areas may eclipse the growth of their urban counterparts, including Reliance Fresh and the Future Group-owned Food Bazaar chain, helped by higher farm income that is spurring a boom in sales of fast moving consumer goods, consumer durables and apparel.
Other than ITC, other laggards include PowerGrid, Infosys, M&M, NTPC, SBI, HDFC, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, TCS, Hero MotoCorp, Coal India, ONGC, RIL, Asian Paint, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank.
Among the Sensex firms, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, Nestle, Tata Motors, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the major gainers. In contrast, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
