Dabur to expand its baby care portfolio; reports 20% jump in Q4 net

FMCG major Dabur India Ltd is looking to extend its presence in the baby care portfolio with new offerings in the coming days as part of its growth strategy.

Ramarao Dhamija, category head, mother and child care, said the company has already created a new brand ''Dabur Baby'' under the baby-care and women's health vertical, adding that all new product launches in the baby care portfolio will be under the `Dabur Baby' brand.

Dabur recently launched premium massage oil under the new brand. So far Dabur's baby care portfolio include the massage oil ''Dabur Lal Tail''; and supplements like ''Dabur Janam Guthi'' and a gripe water.

While the massage oil contributed around Rs100 crore towards the revenue, the supplement and gripe water segment put together accounted for around Rs30 crore.

''We intend to be a serious player in the baby care segment and will accordingly expand our presence there,'' he said.

Dhamija, however, did not specify the offerings that the company was targeting or the possible time-frame for future launches.

''Apart from personal care, there is also a slew of other products which can be tapped. We are looking at the entire gamut in baby care range,'' he added.

Market sources said Dabur is also planning to add products like diapers, swipes and personal care offerings like soaps, shampoos and moisturisers in the baby care category.

Dabur India Ltd (DIL) on Tuesday reported a 20 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter of 2014-15 at Rs284.8 crore, against Rs235.3 crore a year earlier.

Dabur ended the quarter with a 10.2 per cent growth in consolidated net sales to Rs1,944.8 crore. consolidated net sales stood at Rs1,764 crore in the same quarter last year.

Dabur said while the overall macro environment continued to remain challenging, consumer demand in India has started showing signs of a recovery helping it report strong volume-led growth in its key categories like foods, health supplements, digestives, toothpastes, skin care and home care during the fourth quarter of 2014-15 financial year.

"The gradual improvement in the consumption environment has helped our business perform well on all operating parameters. Our robust business model and our ability to efficiently manage the external challenges have helped us report a strong and consistent performance even in the face of intensifying competitive pressures. Our India FMCG business ended the fourth quarter with a 12 per cent growth, led by 8.1 per cent volume growth. Our EBIDTA Margin saw a 17 per cent growth during the quarter," Dabur India Ltd chief executive Sunil Duggal said.

"Going forward too, our focus will be on pursuing an aggressive and profitable growth strategy. We will continue to invest behind our brands and on market expansion programmes while stepping up on innovation with a series of new product launches in the coming quarter," Duggal added.