Colgate-Palmolive Q2 profit surges 22% to ₹340 cr; revenue up 6%

FMCG major Colgate Palmolive released the financial results for the July to September quarter of FY24 on Thursday. During the quarter under review, the company’s net profit stood at ₹340.05 crore, up 22.1% year-on-year as against ₹278 crore in the same period last year. Sequentially, the profit rose 24.2% from ₹273.68 crore in the previous quarter.

In Q2 FY24, the company's net sales surged by 6.1% to ₹1,462.38 crore as against ₹1,378.37 in the same period last year. The company’s domestic growth stood at 6.6% during the quarter under review. Sequentially, the domestic sales of FMCG major witnessed a growth of 11.23% as against ₹1,314.73 crore in the June quarter. Colgate-Palmolive's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) improved by 340 basis points, driven by pricing and efficiencies. 

The company's total income in the September quarter stood at ₹1,492.10 crore, up 6.67%, as against ₹1,398.76 crore in the same period last year. In the September quarter, the company’s total expenses were up by 0.94% to ₹1,024.62 crore as against ₹1,034.29 crore in the same period last year.

"We continue to be happy with our momentum and continue to be focussed on strengthening our brand portfolio & delivering superior products to consumers. In this quarter we have doubled down on the Colgate Strong Teeth relaunch, expanding reach & availability. This has been further supported by the excellent performance of Colgate Max Fresh, which has been relaunched with the best, proprietary freshness technology. We have also restaged our largest toothbrush franchise, Colgate Zig Zag with a superior mix that focuses on its core equity of deep, interdental cleaning. Our domestic growth remains strong, registering a 6.6% increase over the previous year quarter, with our toothpaste segment witnessing higher single-digit growth," says Prabha Narasimhan, MD & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive India.

The company's board has declared the first interim dividend of $22/- per equity share of face value of ₹1/- each for FY24. "The total dividend payout to the shareholders will be Rs. 598.4 crore and will be paid on and from November 21, 2023, to those shareholders whose names appear in the register of members/beneficial owners of the company as on November 6, 2023," says the company.

Ahead of the Q2 results, the share price of the FMCG major closed 1.56% lower at ₹2,040.95. This is in line with broader BSE Sensex which closed 900.91 points or 1.41% lower at 63,148.15. During the session, the company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹55,510.91 crore as 10,282 shares exchanged hands on the BSE as against the two-week average of 8,697 shares.