BENGALURU: Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) reported 20 percent year on year (YoY) growth in advertisement and publicity expenses (Ad) in Q2-2016 (quarter ended September 30, 2015, current quarter) at Rs 253.99 crore (11.3 percent of net Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to Rs 211.69 crore (10.3 percent of TIO). The current quarter’s Ad spend was 1.1 percent higher QoQ as compared to Rs 251.12 crore (12 percent of TIO). In Q4-2015, the company in its earnings release had said that its household insecticides brand ‘Good Knight’ crossed the Rs 1500 crore mark and amongst GPCL’s soap brands, Godrej No. 1 crossed the Rs 1,000 crore and Cinthol, the Rs 500 crore milestone.
Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore
Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej said, “We have grown ahead of the market and gained share in our core categories, aided by our continued focus on innovations, competitive marketing investments and strong on-ground execution. Our India business branded net sales grew by 10 percent, driven by a healthy volume growth of 9 percent. This competitive performance was delivered despite the softness in rural demand and a deficient monsoon.”
“We remain optimistic that as the economy improves, the FMCG sector should see a gradual uptick in demand. We are launching exciting new products and investing in several distribution initiatives. We will also continue to manage our costs prudently in the near term, while investing for the future,” added Godrej.
Trends
Please refer to Fig A below. GCPL’s Q2-2016 Ad spends mentioned above was the highest in absolute rupees during the 14 quarter period starting Q1-2013 until Q2-2016 in this report. Its highest Ad spend in terms of percentage of TIO was in Q1-2014 at 13.8 percent (Rs 239.06 crore). During the period under consideration in this report, its lowest Ad spends both in absolute rupees and in terms of percentage of TIO was in Q2-2014 at Rs 145.78 crore and 7.5 percent.
During the period under consideration in this report, Ad spends in terms of absolute rupees and percentage of TIO shows a linear increasing trend as indicated by the broken blue and maroon trend lines in Fig A below.
GCPL reported 9 percent YoY growth in TIO in Q2-2016 at Rs 2244.94 crore as compared to Rs 2060.12 crore and 7 percent QoQ growth as compared to Rs 2097.66 crore. During the fourteen quarter period under consideration in this report, TIO shows a linear increasing trend as indicated by the broken green trend line.
Profit after tax (PAT) in Q2-2016 at Rs 287.16 crore was 22.4 percent higher YoY as compared to Rs 234.53 crore (11.4 percent of TIO) and was 44.1 percent higher QoQ as compared to Rs 199.23 crore (9.5 percent of TIO). During the fourteen quarter period in this report, PAT shows a linear increasing trend both in terms of absolute rupees and percentage of TIO as in obvious from the broken red and black trend lines in Fig B below.
Category review by GPCL
Household Insecticides
GPCL says that its Household Insecticides maintained its strong performance despite the deficient monsoon, with a double-digit volume-led sales growth of 13 percent. The company says that Good knight has significantly improved the overall category penetration, especially in rural areas. This has been led by superior on-ground execution, effective communication and the success of innovative launches such Good knight Fast Card, Good knight Xpress and Neem Low Smoke Coil. GPCL claims to have consistently gained market share across formats and ended the quarter with our highest ever market share. GPCL launched an innovative ‘Subah Bolo Good knight’ campaign to create awareness on dengue, and to increase daytime usage and consumption. The company says that gross margins continue to benefit from lower crude oil prices and have improved significantly.
Soaps
The company says its Soaps business delivered a competitive performance with robust mid-single digit volume growth. This was partially offset by deflationary pressures, resulting in a value growth of 3 percent. GPCL says that it continues to remain competitive on sales promotion investments to gain market share. GPCL’s premium soaps brand, Cinthol, continued to lead overall value and volume growth, driven by distribution expansion and effective communication.
Hair Colours
The growth momentum in Hair Colours accelerated with a sales growth of 17 percent, aided by a double-digit volume growth. The company says that Godrej Expert Rich Cr?me sustained its strong growth, led by continued initiatives such as festival linked campaigns, large scale activations, salon engagement programmes, etc. The initial consumer response to the launch of Godrej Nupur Coconut Henna Cr?me has been encouraging.
Air Fresheners
Godrej aer, GPCL’s air freshener brand, continued its strong sales and distribution ramp up. This has been aided by the company’s innovative gel format technology and various consumer engagement initiatives. Godrej aer is now the number three player in the Air Care market, says GPCL.
Health and Wellness
GPCL’s says that its Health and Wellness portfolio of hand washes and hand sanitiser, under Godrej Protekt, continued to be well received in modern trade. Buoyed by its success in modern trade, GPCL says that it is introducing Godrej Protekt portfolio in general trade on a pan-India basis.
Premium Hair Care
GPCL has launched BBlunt range of premium hair care products in modern trade and premium general trade outlets.
