Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director and CEO of GCPL, expects consumption and gross margins to recover alongside continued higher marketing investments, with a focus on reducing controllable costs. The company will focus on the growing health and beauty segment in emerging markets. “We are on a path to reducing inventory and wasted costs, and are using this to drive profitable and sustainable volume growth across our portfolio through category development,” says Sitapati.

The growth in the first quarter was primarily due to double-digit growth in sales of personal care and hygiene. “We are strengthening our value-for-money and eco-friendly offering with the launch of the affordable and sustainable ready-to-mix Magic Bodywash priced at ₹45,” says the CEO. The hair color business also saw strong growth, driven by category surge.

The company’s sales in Indonesia fell 9% in rupee terms and 12% at constant exchange rates due to inflationary pressures. Currency-neutral sales excluding hygiene (Saniter) declined 4%. “We continued to reduce inventory levels at channel partners, resulting in near-flat growth in sell-outs. Our EBITDA margins are down 810 basis points year-on-year due to higher commodity inflation, upfront marketing investments, high sanitation comparators and deleveraging,” said Sitapati.

The Latin America and SAARC regions also saw sales decline 5% in rupee terms but grew 15% in constant currency. Sales in Africa, US and Middle East increased 12% in rupee terms and at constant exchange rates. Sales growth momentum continued in southern Africa. The dry hair category grew at a mid-single-digit rate, while the FMCG category grew at double-digit rates, the company said.