Dabur Q4 profit slides 24% due to Covid-19 impact

FMCG major Dabur India on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of ₹281 crore for the quarter ended March 31, down 24 per cent year-on-year (YoY), due to the adverse impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown.

The company had reported a consolidated net profit of ₹370 crore in the previous-year period. Consolidated revenue from operations for the fourth quarter declined 12.3 per cent to ₹1,865 crore.

For the full year 2019-20, net profit stood at ₹1,445 crore, which was almost flat, compared to ₹1,442 crore in the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations stood at ₹8,704 crore, up 2 per cent.

The company's board recommended a final dividend of 160 per cent. “Continuing with our dividend payout policy, the board has proposed a dividend of ₹1.60 per share, aggregating to ₹282.74 crore,” said Dabur India Chairman Amit Burman.

“The 2019-20 net profit was impacted by a one-time impairment in value of investments to the tune of ₹100 crore. Excluding this impairment, the net profit for the year marked a 5.8 per cent growth year-on-year,” said the company.

“Dabur opened the fourth quarter on a positive note, successfully tapping the growth opportunities. However, the Covid outbreak in March, followed by the nationwide lockdown, caused severe disruptions in our business and brought sales to a virtual standstill in the second fortnight of March 2020,” said Mohit Malhotra, CEO, Dabur India.

He said with most of the products across the healthcare, home and personal care portfolio falling in the non-essential category, “the pre-season sales of summer-skewed products to meet the seasonal demand was severely impacted.”

“As the lockdown restrictions eased gradually, Dabur has been at the forefront on delivering authentic Ayurvedic solutions to meet the emerging healthcare needs of consumers. Demand patterns have changed significantly, with consumers increasingly seeking Ayurveda-based interventions for boosting their immunity, besides products that meet their personal and household hygiene needs,” Malhotra said.

The company said it has witnessed a 400 per cent surge in demand for Dabur Chyawanprash and an 80 per cent growth in Dabur Honey. Facing a stock-out situation in the market, it has already made investments to meet the growing demand for such products.