Marico's Saugata Gupta: Second-half growth to be fueled by better consumer sentiment, low base effect

Gupta also expects to achieve double-digit growth in the international business in constant currency terms while maintaining profitability.

In the latest financial quarter (Q2FY24), the company's international business recorded a 7.33% increase in revenue to ₹644 crore.

The Harsh Mariwala-led company owns Beardo and Plix in grooming and wellness brands, and Gupta expects these businesses to turn profitable this year.

“Definitely Beardo is going to deliver profits, the cash burn in both Just Herbs and Plix is very low. Obviously, Plix is in a high growth phase. For both Beardo and Plix, the run rates are expected to cross ₹150 crore and the fact that there is very limited cash burn or profits, I think is proof of the fact that we can scale digital business profitably compared to some of the standalone brands.”

The company traditionally operated within a margin band of 19-20%. However, Gupta highlighted that in the near term, the margin could move even higher than this band.

Shares of Marico were up around 1% at ₹539.30 per share mid-day. The shares have declined by more than 6% in the past month.