Confident Of Delivering Stronger Performance In FY21, Says Emami Founder

Homegrown FMCG firm Emami is confident of delivering a "stronger performance" in FY21, despite a 26 per cent degrowth in sales in the COVID-19 impacted April-June quarter, company founder and wholetime director R S Goenka said on Friday.

Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting of the Kolkata-headquartered company, he said Emami is ramping up its innovation pipeline and investing in the new-age trade channels to be future-ready.

It has continued to strengthen its sectorial position through strategic brand investments, timely innovation, targeted distribution and technology enhancement in response to all macroeconomic challenges after COVID-19, he said.

"Through the adoption of advanced technology and digital transformation across verticals, your company is becoming more future-ready," Goenka said to shareholders.

Emami has introduced brand extensions during the year, strengthening its presence after the outbreak of COVID-19, when there was a profound shift in consumer behaviour.

"We are ramping up our innovation pipeline, deepening our distribution across both traditional and new-age trade channels and finding new and exciting ways to delight our consumers with differentiated quality and affordable products," Goenka added.

Through the adoption of advanced technology and digital transformation across verticals, the company is becoming more future-ready.

"We are confident that with this approach towards prevailing challenges, we will deliver a stronger performance in 2020-21," he said.

In FY20, Emami's revenue had marginally declined by 1 per cent to Rs 2,655 crore. This was mainly due to a 17 per cent decline in Q4 FY20. However, "tight cost control measures" helped Emami to improve its gross margins and deliver 2 per cent growth in cash profits.

In the first quarter of FY21, Emami reported consolidated revenues of Rs 481 crore, registering a sales degrowth of 26 per cent.

The company is investing in the new-age channel after a shift in the consumer buying pattern and is focusing on digital initiates.

"Our revenues in these new-age channels grew by 16 per cent in FY20 and increased their contribution to the domestic business from 7.5 per cent to 9 per cent," Goenka said.

It is scaling up modern trade and e-commerce presence with initiatives like making channel-specific SKUs.

"Your company took every right step in the post-COVID world, to ensure brand Emami stayed relevant for consumers who would want to feel good about themselves and stay healthy, naturally," he said.

Besides, Emami has also "overhauled its international business" in key geographies generating 16 per cent Y-o-Y global revenue growth.

Emami extended its presence in more than 60 countries, through proprietary manufacturing units in India and Bangladesh and a contract manufacturing unit in Sri Lanka.

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