Marico sees slower consumer demand over last three months

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Oct 3, 2019

Fast moving consumer goods business Marico has seen overall consumer demand decrease in the most recent quarter of the financial year, although the brand’s e-commerce business remained strong.

As with a number of FMCG firms, the July to September quarter of the current financial year, which ended on September 30, saw less demand than the previous quarter. Marico said in a statement on the bourses on Tuesday that "soft consumption trends and tight liquidity conditions"' has caused a "much subdued quarter" for many of its product categories, the Press Trust of India reported.

The Mumbai-based business, which retails a large range of haircare among other product categories, reported slower category growth in the July to September period. "The demand and consumer sentiments weakened progressively during the quarter,” said the business. However, modern trade and e-commerce sales were more positive, it said.

Marico’s official financial results are currently awaiting approval from its board of directors and will be released shortly. The business hopes for a recovery during the second half of the current financial year and reported a revenue total of Rs 5,971 crore ($897.5 million) in the 2019 financial year.