Marico shares jump 3% as biz operations resume in Bangladesh

Shares of Marico rose over 3% in intraday trade on Tuesday after the consumer goods company, which sells health, beauty and wellness products, said that its business operations resumed in Bangladesh. The FMCG major’s business operations in Bangladesh were affected in the wake of recent political crisis in the neighbouring country after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on August 5 and fled the country amid nation-wide protest against job quota.  

Cheering the news, Marico shares gained as much as 3.2% to ₹665.55, while the market capitalisation rose to ₹85,065 crore. Early today, the FMCG stock opened marginally higher at ₹646 after ending 1.3% lower at ₹644.70 on the BSE.

The share price of Marico touched its all-time high of ₹690.95 on June 30, 2024, and a 52-week low of ₹486.75 on March 19, 2024. The counter has risen 16% in the past 12 months; 25% in six months; and over 21% in the calendar year 2024. In the past one month, the largecap stock has given flat returns.

“By way of additional update, we would like to inform you that our manufacturing operations in the country have resumed at normal scale yesterday. Operating conditions in the market have been gradually improving and a large majority our retail sales force and distributors have been functioning since last week,” Marico said in an exchange filing last evening.

“We continue to prioritise the safety of our employees, factory workers, distributors and other stakeholders of our business,” the release noted.

As per the company, the medium-term prospects of Marico’s business in Bangladesh remain intact.

Marico, which owns brands like Saffola and Parachute, generates around 44% of its international revenue from Bangladesh. Within the international business, Bangladesh registered 10% CCG (constant currency growth) in the first quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Marico, in its Q1 FY25 earnings report released on August 5, said it is reducing revenue dependence on Bangladesh business, citing strong growth momentum in the MENA and South Africa businesses. It expects Bangladesh business to maintain double digit momentum in the coming quarter.

“In Bangladesh, we have been reducing our dependence on coconut oil and driving and successfully significant diversification of our portfolio into shampoo, baby and all,” says Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO, in the earnings conference call.

For the April-June quarter of FY25, the Mumbai-headquartered company reported 8.66% rise in net profit to ₹464 crore as compared to ₹427 crore in the same quarter the previous year. The revenue from operations increased 6.7% to ₹2,643 crore in Q1 FY25, from ₹2,477 crore in the year ago period. Revenue from India, which constitutes three-fourths of total revenue, climbed 7.38% to ₹1,926 crore, compared to ₹1,827 crore in the corresponding period last year.

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