Brands
Q3 Results – Adani Wilmar Limited records 13 per cent volume growth
Mumbai: Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL) records a strong 13 per cent volume growth in 9M FY24, with broad based growth across all segments. Sequential revenue growth of 5 per cent QoQ (Q3’24 vs. Q2’24). In 9M ’24, the food & FMCG segment recorded a revenue of Rs 3653 crore, a 26 per cent YoY growth company achieved best EBITDA till date, at Rs 504 crore in Q3.
The company’s growth trajectory remained steady with a volume growth of 5 per cent YoY in Q3’24 and 13 per cent YoY in 9M FY’24. Consumer demand in packaged staple foods stayed strong during the festive season of Q3. The branded products that comprises 80 per cent of edible oils and Foods & FMCG sales, grew faster than the overall sales in both segments. Rural sales also stayed steady for us. Despite good volume growth, revenue is optically lower by 17 per cent YoY in Q3, as product pricing has been lower during the year, in-line with lower raw-material costs.
The company recorded revenue of Rs 12828 crore in Q3 and Rs 38024 crores in 9M FY’24. The profitability of the company has again normalised with EBITDA at Rs 504 crore. In Q3, after witnessing 2 quarters of subdued profits due to high-cost inventory and hedge dis-alignment. Profitability of the Bangladesh subsidiary continues to be in stress due to the local currency issues. Standalone EBITDA was higher at Rs 530 crore in Q3.
The company is progressively using more regional approaches to drive deeper penetration into the local markets. The company is on track to more than double its rural town coverage during the financial year from 13,000 towns to more than 30,000 rural towns by the end of this financial year. The company has been adding new markets and our branded products are now available in 38 countries across six continents.
Edible oil
The volume was flat YoY in Q3 and grew by 8 per cent YoY during 9M FY’24. Branded products have been growing at a faster pace. Branded products grew by 3 per cent YoY in Q3 and 15 per cent YoY in 9M FY’24. ROCP (refined oil consumer pack) market share of AWL in edible oils reached 19.8 per cent in Dec ‘23 on MAT basis (source: Nielsen), which is an improvement of 30 bps vis-à-vis the same period last year.
The segment recorded revenue of Rs 9711 crores in Q3, with sequential growth of 7 per cent compared to Q2. In YoY terms, revenue is optically lower by 23 per cent YoY in Q3 ‘24, as product pricing has been lower during the year, in line with lower raw-material costs.
The growth in the edible oils segment continues to be driven by strong growth in sunflower oil and mustard oil, which have been growing faster than the industry due to strong brand equity.
Food & FMCG
The Food & FMCG segment, which includes products such as wheat flour, rice, pulses, besan, sugar, poha and soap continued to outperform. During the quarter, the segment revenues grew at 25 per cent YoY, with an underlying volume growth of 17 per cent YoY.In 9M FY’24, the segment delivered a turnover of Rs 3653 Crores, a robust growth of 26 per cent YoY.
Exports restriction has been a drag on foods growth in the last three quarters. In the domestic market, branded products revenue has been growing at 40 per cent plus YoY for the last nine quarters.
Wheat business gained share in South India from multiple interventions. This led to a significant improvement in volume off take in Q3, increased penetration in retail outlets, and created pull demand from retailers. In South India, branded penetration is high for the industry, along with good pricing power for brands. We will continue to focus on the South India market to gain our fair share.
Industry essentials
The industry essentials volume grew by 17 per cent YoY in Q3 ’24 and 21 per cent YoY in 9M FY’24, supported by robust growth in Castor & Oleochemical businesses. The segment recorded revenue of Rs 1844 in Q3 and Rs 5777 in 9M FY’24.
Key highlights –
1 Volumes show strong resilience and reflect robust consumer demand, growing at 5 per cent YoY in Q3 and 14 per cent YoY for 9M FY24 across all segments.
2 Branded products, which are 80 per cent of sales of edible oils, Foods & FMCG, show higher growth.
3 Branded Food & FMCG in the domestic market has shown market-beating growth of over 40 per cent YoY in the past 9 quarters with the segment expected to touch a milestone revenue of Rs 5000 crores for FY ‘24.
4 Rural demand is stable, belying expectations of weak rural demand having a major impact on consumer goods sales.
5 Company on track to more than double rural coverage from 13000 to over 30000 rural towns by the end of FY24.
6 Revenue dip reflects lower prices of edible oils in response to decline in input costs of raw materials. However, strong brand equity drives growth in sunflower oil and mustard oil faster than the industry.
Commenting on the results Adani Wilmar Limited MD & CEO, Angshu Mallick said: “We continued to witness the growth momentum in packaged staple foods driven by shift in consumer preferences for hygienic and quality products. The revenues from the branded products in the domestic market, under the Food & FMCG segment have been growing at 40 per cent plus YoY in the past 9 quarters enabling us to close FY ’24 with an estimated Rs 5,000 crores of revenue in the segment.
We are putting our energies in rapidly scaling up our distribution network for general trade to realise the immense opportunity available in the packaged staple foods. At the same time, we are developing our HORECA and exports channels which will continue to witness much faster growth in the near future. Our strong market share in the alternate channels put us in an advantaged position from the fast-growing rate of this channel.”
Brands
Google nears Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
Market cap gap narrows as Google hits $4.65 trillion, Nvidia at $4.86 trillion.
MUMBAI: In the AI gold rush, even the giants are sprinting and Google is suddenly gaining ground. Google is rapidly closing in on Nvidia in the race to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, with the gap between the two narrowing sharply amid diverging stock momentum. The tech giant’s market capitalisation has surged to around $4.65 trillion, following a more than 140 per cent rise in its share price over the past year.
That rally has added over $2.6 trillion in value in just 12 months, including nearly $900 billion since January alone. Its stock recently hovered at $381.80, slipping marginally by 0.04 per cent, but still reflecting strong upward momentum.
Nvidia, meanwhile, continues to hold the top spot with a valuation of approximately $4.86 trillion. The chipmaker crossed the $5 trillion milestone in October last year and peaked at $5.27 trillion on 27 April. However, its shares have largely plateaued over the past six months, rising just 0.2 per cent recently to $199.99.
The contrast in trajectories is striking. While Nvidia has seen relatively flat movement, Google has gained over 36 per cent in the same six-month period. Barron’s estimates suggest that if current trends hold, the valuation gap could shrink to as little as $190 million by the time Nvidia reports its first-quarter earnings on 20 May.
Daily momentum paints a similar picture. Nvidia recorded average daily gains of about 0.66 per cent last month, compared to Google’s stronger 1.42 per cent, an edge that could prove decisive in the short term.
Driving Google’s resurgence is its aggressive push into artificial intelligence across its ecosystem, from search and YouTube to cloud computing. The company has already invested $144 billion in capital expenditure over the past two years and plans to deploy a further $490 billion over the next two.
Its cloud division is also gathering pace. Google Cloud reported an order backlog of nearly $220 billion in the latest quarter, with total backlog touching a record $462 billion, around half of which is expected to be realised within two years. The company’s entry into chip sales is also beginning to factor into its growth narrative.
The last time Google briefly topped the S&P 500 by market value was in February 2016, when it edged past Apple for just two days. This time, the stakes and the numbers are far higher.
At the heart of the contest lies a single force: artificial intelligence. As both companies pour billions into infrastructure, chips and platforms, the leaderboard is no longer just about size, it is about who can scale the future faster.
