Dabur Q1-FY11 net up nearly 20 per cent at around Rs128 crore

FMCG major Dabur today reported a 19.6 per cent growth in consolidated net profit for the first quarter at Rs127.74 crore, against Rs106.79 crore a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter grew 27.8 per cent.

Helped by strong demand across its key categories, calibrated price hikes and stringent cost-saving initiatives, Dabur India mitigated the impact of rising input costs to end the first quarter of 2011-12 financial year with a 31.6 per cent rise in consolidated sales, the company said in a release.

Gross sales for the first quarter 2011-12 stood at Rs1,216.24 crore, which includes income from the recently-acquired Hobi Kozmetik of Turkey and Namasté Laboratories of the US. Gross sales for the same period a year ago stood at Rs924.38 crore.

"Dabur has been reporting strong and consistent performance despite Inflation playing truant and competitive pressures intensifying in some key categories. In order to minimise the impact of high input costs, the company has put in place calibrated price hikes.

This, combined with our cost management initiatives, helped Dabur record a 27.8 per cent growth in EBITDA during the first quarter," Dabur India chief executive Sunil Duggal said.

While the hair oils category reported 16.1 per cent growth during the first quarter, Dabur's toothpaste brands continued their impressive run to end the period with a 14.1 per cent growth and 80 bps market share gain.

Dabur's home care business reported another quarter of strong growth with a 24.9 per cent jump, while the foods business posted a robust 31.5 per cent growth during the quarter. The Skin Care portfolio -- on sustained demand for the Fem range and expansion of the Dabur Uveda range of ayurvedic skin care products -- ended the period with a 16.3 per cent growth.