ANALYSIS
Price hikes, sales volumes drive FMCG companies' Q4 PAT despite Iran war
This story was originally published at 20:55 IST on 3 June 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Wednesday, Jun. 3, 2026
By Avishek Rakshit
KOLKATA – The crisis in West Asia following the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran had a negative impact on Indian fast-moving consumer goods companies in the March quarter, as raw material costs surged, prompting companies to raise prices. Ideally, as in the past, it would have resulted in lower sales volumes during the quarter, but this time the situation turned out differently.
Industry officials said Indian consumers have accepted the fact that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz has increased crude oil and crude oil derivative costs and companies had to increase prices to stay afloat. Thus, the fast-moving consumer goods sector registered a 5.4% year-on-year volume growth in the March quarter, despite price hikes, according to a report by market intelligence agency Worldpanel by Numerator.
The change in goods and services tax rates also had a mixed impact on the overall sector. While all companies saw an uptick in consumer demand for goods such as personal care items, food, and branded packaged products, cigarette sales declined sharply. ITC Ltd., which alone accounts for over 11% of the FMCG and retail sector revenue, saw its cigarette sales decline by 15-20% year-on-year in Feb-Mar, according to cigarette distributors.
At the same time, volatility in gold prices, which have been at elevated levels for several quarters, has prompted jewellers such as Titan Co. Ltd. and Kalyan Jewellers India Ltd. to introduce more affordable products by offering lower-carat jewellery and increasing sales of studded jewellery.
Fast-moving consumer goods companies and those from the retail, consumer durables, and jewellery sectors that are part of the NIFTY 200 index delivered the strongest year-on-year net revenue growth in the March quarter of any quarter in the last financial year. However, the 17.7% revenue growth in the March quarter, higher than the consensus estimate of 15.8%, was lower than the sector's 18.0% growth in the corresponding quarter of 2024-25 (Apr-Mar).
The adjusted net profit growth for these companies in the March quarter, at 18.0%, was among the strongest recorded since the September quarter of FY23. The net profit growth, inclusive of one-time expenses and gains, and employee-related expenses arising from the new labour laws, provisioning, and other items, however, fell 41.8% on year in the March quarter. It was the first time since the March quarter of FY24 that the sector saw its net profits decline on year. The Street expected the sector to report a 5.6% net profit growth in the March quarter.
Such a sharp decline in net profit was primarily due to ITC – the largest FMCG player by revenue – whose cigarette sales tanked after prices rose sharply, driven by a 60-65% increase in net cigarette taxes. Voltas Ltd., laden with a large inventory of air conditioners, also contributed to the drag on the sector's net profits.
Of the 19 companies covered, 15 met or surpassed the consensus estimates of analysts for net profit growth for the March quarter and 11 reported revenue growth either in line with the Street or beyond expectations. Estimates for Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. were not available.
Nestle India Ltd., Tata Consumer Products Ltd., Titan Co., Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Varun Beverages Ltd., Dabur India Ltd., Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd., Kalyan Jewellers India, Marico Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd., and Patanjali Foods Ltd. were the outperformers in terms of beating revenue estimates while Hindustan Unilever Ltd., ITC, Britannia Industries Ltd., Havells India Ltd., United Spirits Ltd., Blue Star Ltd., and Voltas failed to meet the Street's expectations.
Titan Co., Godrej Consumer Products, and Voltas lagged in meeting their consensus profit estimates, while the others surpassed their respective profit projections.
The aggregate top-line performance of these 19 companies during the March quarter was also higher than the overall revenue growth recorded by Nifty 200 companies, around 12.2%. The adjusted profit growth of these companies at a little over 18% is also above the 15.2% average growth registered by the companies in the Nifty 200 index.
CONFLICT AND COSTS
The war in West Asia and the subsequent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global crude oil and gas supplies. Disruptions in crude oil supplies led petrochemical and crude oil derivative prices to surge due to fears of scarcity, and the blockade elevated shipping costs. Meanwhile, Malaysia's move towards biodiesel led to a surge in palm oil prices. Palm oil is a key component of the Indian consumer goods industry. Not only are packaged food products cooked in palm oil, but it is also used to make soaps. Crude oil derivatives are used in personal care products.
Raw material costs for the consumer goods and retail sector surged nearly 25% year-on-year in the March quarter, driven by supply disruptions and elevated commodity prices. Comparatively, the average raw material costs for companies in the Nifty 200 index increased a little over 15% on year.
Even before the disruptions caused by the war in West Asia, palm oil prices remained elevated, prompting these companies to raise prices and launch new pack sizes to maintain momentum in consumer demand.
While companies faced cost pressures in the March quarter, part of their revenue was also hit due to the West Asia crisis. Iran's attacks on the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries led to plant closures of Indian consumer goods companies and disrupted their supply of finished products to markets. At the same time, increased shipping costs owing to a container shortage and elevated insurance costs led companies to curtail exports to the Gulf countries. The West Asian region is a key market for companies like Dabur India, Britannia Industries, Marico, and Tata Consumer Products.
Jewellers such as Titan Co. and Kalyan Jewellers also saw their raw material costs rise. Gold prices, which were INR 13,500 per gram in April 2025, touched INR 17,700 per gram in January 2026 before finally easing to INR 16,931 per gram in March.
Cigarette prices for premium variants surged 41% from February onwards, leading to a sharp decline in demand. However, the price surge was not due to cost pressures but to the government's sharp tax increase, which raised the tax incidence to 60-65% under the new GST regime.
The following table shows the performance of the 19 companies in the fast-moving consumer goods, retail, jewellery, and consumer durable products sector vis-a-vis the consensus estimate for each company as well as against the consensus estimate for the FMCG sector and the Nifty 200 index.
|
Company |
PAT beat analysts' estimate |
Adjusted PAT growth % |
Adjusted PAT |
PAT beat sector estimate |
PAT beat Nifty 200 estimate |
|
Revenue beat analysts' estimate |
Revenue growth % |
Revenue |
Revenue beat sector estimate |
Revenue beat Nifty 200 estimate |
|
FMCG, Retail, Jewellery, and Consumer Durables Sector |
|
18.04 |
5.60 |
|
|
|
|
17.68 |
15.78 |
|
|
|
Nifty 200 |
|
15.19 |
4.68 |
|
|
|
|
12.16 |
13.70 |
|
|
|
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED |
YES |
17.53 |
2.84 |
YES |
YES |
|
NO |
6.78 |
9.34 |
NO |
NO |
|
ITC LIMITED |
YES |
-73.86 |
-8.51 |
NO |
YES |
|
NO |
-6.95 |
6.18 |
NO |
NO |
|
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED |
YES |
25.83 |
10.70 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
22.60 |
13.84 |
YES |
YES |
|
TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED |
YES |
21.53 |
36.96 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
17.91 |
14.32 |
YES |
YES |
|
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED |
NO |
29.20 |
58.13 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
77.59 |
55.08 |
YES |
YES |
|
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD |
YES |
21.14 |
19.57 |
YES |
YES |
|
NO |
6.47 |
10.05 |
NO |
NO |
|
GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED |
NO |
9.68 |
28.69 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
10.99 |
11.48 |
NO |
NO |
|
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED |
YES |
40.59 |
-11.44 |
YES |
YES |
|
NO |
2.38 |
9.18 |
NO |
NO |
|
UNITED SPIRITS LIMITED |
YES |
26.61 |
-3.99 |
YES |
YES |
|
NO |
3.39 |
4.91 |
NO |
NO |
|
VARUN BEVERAGES LIMITED |
YES |
20.08 |
2.84 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
18.09 |
7.81 |
YES |
YES |
|
BLUE STAR LTD |
YES |
17.25 |
-0.78 |
YES |
YES |
|
NO |
1.32 |
8.03 |
NO |
NO |
|
DABUR INDIA LTD |
YES |
15.14 |
8.60 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
7.35 |
5.23 |
NO |
NO |
|
DIXON TECHNOLOGIES (INDIA) LIMITED |
YES |
-36.03 |
18.02 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
2.12 |
2.08 |
NO |
NO |
|
GODFREY PHILLIPS INDIA LIMITED |
N/A |
101.24 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
N/A |
14.04 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
KALYAN JEWELLERS INDIA LIMITED |
YES |
118.28 |
99.22 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
66.22 |
49.93 |
YES |
YES |
|
MARICO LIMITED |
YES |
13.99 |
13.09 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
22.09 |
21.62 |
YES |
YES |
|
VOLTAS LTD |
NO |
-51.80 |
-3.97 |
NO |
NO |
|
NO |
2.52 |
4.84 |
NO |
NO |
|
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE (INDIA) LIMITED |
YES |
-0.47 |
-0.98 |
NO |
NO |
|
YES |
9.08 |
4.64 |
NO |
NO |
|
PATANJALI FOODS LIMITED |
YES |
46.16 |
-4.95 |
YES |
YES |
|
YES |
17.28 |
10.62 |
YES |
YES |
The following table shows the profit margins of the 19 FMCG companies that are a part of the Nifty 200
|
Company |
Adjusted PAT Margin for Mar-26 |
Adjusted PAT Margin for Mar-25 |
Adjusted PAT Margin for Dec-25 |
|
FMCG Sector |
11.99% |
11.95% |
12.24% |
|
Nifty 200 |
12.84% |
12.50% |
12.40% |
|
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED |
17.25% |
17.23% |
17.81% |
|
ITC LIMITED |
31.85% |
28.26% |
29.63% |
|
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED |
17.05% |
16.09% |
15.20% |
|
TATA CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED |
7.66% |
6.50% |
7.97% |
|
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED |
4.49% |
6.46% |
7.14% |
|
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD |
14.37% |
12.63% |
14.66% |
|
GODREJ CONSUMER PRODUCTS LIMITED |
13.97% |
12.61% |
14.73% |
|
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED |
10.98% |
8.00% |
6.22% |
|
UNITED SPIRITS LIMITED |
20.06% |
15.31% |
14.63% |
|
VARUN BEVERAGES LIMITED |
13.27% |
13.05% |
5.99% |
|
BLUE STAR LIMITED |
5.15% |
4.82% |
4.68% |
|
DABUR INDIA LIMITED |
12.13% |
11.31% |
16.16% |
|
DIXON TECHNOLOGIES (INDIA) LIMITED |
2.44% |
1.46% |
2.69% |
|
GODFREY PHILLIPS INDIA LIMITED |
26.98% |
16.23% |
19.36% |
|
KALYAN JEWELLERS INDIA LIMITED |
3.99% |
3.03% |
4.43% |
|
MARICO LIMITED |
11.73% |
12.56% |
12.64% |
|
VOLTAS LIMITED |
2.38% |
5.06% |
3.63% |
|
COLGATE-PALMOLIVE (INDIA) LIMITED |
23.19% |
24.27% |
22.36% |
|
PATANJALI FOODS LIMITED |
6.21% |
3.77% |
5.95% |
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj
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