Marico raises growth targets after strong Q2

MUMBAI: Marico Ltd reported one of its strongest quarterly performances in years as easing copra prices lifted margins and enabled the maker of Parachute coconut oil to post record growth in July-September.

The company also raised its full-year growth targets, projecting mid-twenties growth in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda).

Consolidated revenue from operations rose 12.9% year-on-year to ₹3,897 crore in the July-September quarter, while net profit increased 29.1% to ₹ 558 crore. Domestic volume growth stood at 10%.

Ebitda rose 27% to ₹709 crore, its fastest growth in 50 quarters, while the Ebitda margin expanded 200 basis points to 18.2%.

“Supported by robust business fundamentals and disciplined execution, we expect to deliver teens revenue growth this year and comfortably cross the ₹15,000 crore revenue mark. We expect to achieve mid-twenties Ebitda growth in FY27,” the company said in a statement.

This marks an improvement over its outlook after the first-quarter results in August, when the company had guided for double-digit revenue growth and high-teen Ebitda growth in FY27.

“This improvement is driven by favorable product portfolio mix, improving profitability across our new growth engines and the benefit of softer copra prices,” managing director and chief executive officer Saugata Gupta said in the post-results earnings call.
The company increased advertising expenses by 44% in the period from a year ago.

Over 95% of its business gained or sustained market share and penetration on a moving annual total (MAT) basis, the company said.

Shares of the company closed 0.18 % lower at ₹798.55 on the National Stock Exchange on Monday, while the benchmark Nifty 50 rose 1.68%.

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Copra prices, the company's most important raw material cost, fell 31% from a year earlier. However, liquid paraffin and packaging costs remained elevated.

Value-added hair oils delivered its sixth consecutive quarter of stellar growth, registering 21% value growth and gaining 80 bps in value market share on a MAT basis.

Saffola edible oils recorded 6% revenue growth during the quarter, with a high-single-digit volume decline. The company said that the premium range continued to grow despite the overall slowdown.

The company is undertaking a "deliberate reset to strengthen the long-term profitability of the franchise,” Gupta said. “We rationalized the supply of select low-margin variants, which led to a high single-digit volume decline while revenue grew 6%. This process will get completed over the next two or three quarters,” he said.

The company also passed on the benefit of import duty cuts on vegetable oil to consumers. The government reduced the basic customs duty (BCD) on major imported edible oils from 24 September to help control rising retail prices and cool food inflation ahead of the festive season.

Marico's foods portfolio grew 45%, crossing an annualised revenue run rate of ₹1,500+ crore in the period.

The premium personal care portfolio, comprising premium hair nourishment, hair cleansing, male grooming and skin care, crossed an annualised revenue run rate of ₹500 crore and the digital-first portfolio reported an annualised run rate of ~ ₹1,150 crore.

The international business grew 13% in constant currency growth. Marico’s revenue share of premium categories in the international business increased from 20% in FY20 to 30% in FY26, and the company expects this to expand to 40% by FY30.

The revenue share of non-Bangladesh portfolio in the overall international business has increased from 50% in FY20 to 55% in FY26 and is expected to increase further to 65% by FY30.
“Given copra prices are down 32% y-y, we expect MRCO (Marico) to stand out and see strong y-y margin expansion (unlike most of its covered peers who will see contraction) and sustain strong EBITDA growth at 26% y-y,” analysts at Nomura Group said in a September 30 report.

Marico said that it is among the very few companies that have not cut advertising and promotion spends. "On a steady state basis you can expect in the range of double-digit growth in the A&P that will definitely happen in the India business," the management said on increasing advertising spends.

Through focused investments to accelerate profitable scale up of foods and premium personal care portfolios (incl. digital-first businesses), Marico aims to increase their share of India revenue to about 27% by end of FY27 and about 33% by FY30. Simultaneously, Marico expects digital-first businesses to achieve double-digit Ebitda margin by FY27 exit and expand further to teens within the medium term.

Neethi Lisa Rojan is a senior correspondent focusing on the consumer goods and retail sector working from Mumbai for Mint since 2026. She has been a journalist for a little over two years with Moneycontrol and The Morning Context. She has covered the consumer and healthcare sectors in earlier roles. She was a double gold medallist during her bachelor’s from Mahatma Gandhi University Kerala and post-graduation from Pondicherry University. With a background in commerce and journalism, she brings a sharp analytical lens to stories on India’s fast-evolving consumer goods and retail sector.<br><br>With an academic background in business administration and a keen eye for financial statement analysis, she bridges the gap between corporate data and compelling narrative journalism. Her reporting is characterized by a focus on how evolving consumer behaviours and regulatory changes impact India's largest mass-market brands. She is a keen learner with diplomas in international business, human rights and journalism. She specialized in business journalism at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. When she is not looking into shopping carts, you can find her explaining the latest conspiracy theory.

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