Dabur India launches ₹500 cr venture arm to back digital-first brands - Business Standard
Dabur India on Thursday announced the launch of Dabur Ventures, a ₹500 crore investment platform which will focus on digital-first consumer businesses of the home-grown fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm.
“We will restrict our existing categories and not go beyond them. We are already quite a diversified portfolio, and across it
will look at adjacencies which are premium, resonating with the digital first Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumer. We will get into modernisation of format,” Mohit Malhotra, chief executive officer, Dabur India, told analysts during a call after announcing the company’s September quarter results.
“Any digital first company, which has got a head start to what we can do organically ourselves is what we will speak to and get in the early stages,” he added.
The maker of Real fruit juices and Hajmola candy reported a 6.4 per cent uptick in net profit to ₹452.6 crore during the second quarter from ₹425 crore in the same period last year. Its net sales grew 5.4 per cent to ₹3,191.3 crore from ₹3,028.6 crore in the year ago period, while profit before interest, depreciation, and tax (PBIDT) rose 3.4 per cent to ₹728.1 crore from the same period last year.
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The company’s rural growth was 500 basis points (bps) ahead of urban, while the overall volumes grew 2 per cent during the quarter.
“Our performance during the quarter stands as a testament to Dabur’s enduring resilience and consumer trust. Despite a dynamic economic environment and transitional GST headwinds, we delivered robust growth. Our India business reported market share gains across 95 per cent of the portfolio,” Malhotra said in a release.
The company recorded a GST impact of around ₹100 crore, Malhotra told analysts, while adding that nearly 66 per cent of the company’s portfolio benefited from the rate reductions.
“The impact was not restricted to only September. There will be a carry forward impact for the first 15 days of October,” he further said.
The company recorded steady growth across key verticals. The toothpaste business reported 14.3 per cent growth, while the ‘100% Fruit Juice’ portfolio under the Real Activ brand grew by over 45 per cent. Its foods portfolio grew by over 14 per cent, while the shampoo portfolio reported an over 9 per cent jump, and hair oils business grew by over 5 per cent. The home care business posted an over 5 per cent growth.