Brands
Godrej Consumer Products lowers Q4-2014 ad spends by 36 per cent
BENGALURU: FMCG player Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GPCL) spent (-35.93) per cent less towards Advertising and Publicity (Ad & Pub spends) in Q4-2014 at Rs 145.78 crore as compared to the Rs 227.53 crore in the immediate trailing Q3-2013 and (-14.75) per cent lower than the Rs 171 crore in the year ago quarter (Q4-2013).
However, the company spent 24.61 per cent more towards Ad & Pub in FY-2014 at Rs 832.97 crore as compared to the Rs 668.48 crore in the last fiscal (FY-2013). Overall, as per Fig 1 below, in terms of rupees spent, the company’s overall Ad & Pub spends trend (linear) upwards over the last eight quarters starting with Q1-2013 till Q4-2014. However, in terms of Ad and Pub spends in terms of percentage of Operating Revenue (Op Rev), the linear trend is downwards, the company is spending less as a percentage of its Op Rev towards Ad & Pub.
The company’s Op Rev in Q4-2014 has fallen by (-2.56) per cent to Rs 1931.52 crore from Rs 1982.27 crore in Q3-2014, but is 12.34 per cent higher than the Rs 1719.39 crore in Q4-2013. GCPL’s FY-2014 Op Rev is 18.49 per cent higher at Rs 7602.41 crore as compared to the Rs 6416.30 crore in FY-2013.
Overall, GCPL’s PAT for FY-2014 at Rs 759.73 crore is (-4.57) per cent lower than the Rs 796.10 crore in FY-2013. Q-o-Q, PAT at Rs 236.28 crore in Q4-2014 is 20.69 per cent higher than the Rs 195.77 crore in Q3-2014, but (-29.29) per cent lower than the Rs 334.14 crore y-o-y.
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As per Fig 2 below, GCPL’s Op Rev, PAT and PAT as percentage of Op Rev, all show an upward trend.
In its India category review, the company has the following to say:
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Household Insecticides
Sales growth returns back to normalcy at 17 per cent plus, well ahead of the category. GCPL continues to drive market share gains aided by success of Good Knight Fast card and HIT Anti Roach Gel. GCPL believes that the new launch Good Knight Xpress LV will bring further gains to GCPL franchise.
Soaps
Sales value grew at 1 per cent, well ahead of the category growth which is facing significant pressure in terms of consumer off take. Category de-grew both in value and volume terms in mid to high single digits respectively. GCPL has recently launched a new variant for Godrej No. 1 ‘Lavender and Milk Cream’and says that it has also started a 360 degree media campaign for Cinthol ‘Cool’ soap ahead of summers.
Hair Colours
Strong momentum in hair colours was maintained, delivering sales growth at 16 per cent plus despite anniversarisation of Expert Cr?me launch. Growth rates were significantly ahead of category growth rates. The company has also launched new packaging for Expert Advanced Gel based hair colours and a twin use pack for Expert Cr?me. GCPL has on going initiatives such as salon engagement programs, festival linked promotions, etc. to drive higher consumption and penetration for the category continued to deliver healthy results.
Aer
GCPL says that Aer continues to do well aided by its consumer engagement initiatives. The product was launched in gel format for both click and twist format.
GCPL chairman Adi Godrej’s quote
“We have delivered robust performance in our India and in our international businesses this quarter, in a challenging market environment. Our focus on sustaining and extending leadership in our core categories has enabled us to grow significantly ahead of the market. Our innovations have delivered well ahead of expectations. Overall, our operating performance has been strong, with profits growing ahead of sales.”
“Our India business delivered relatively healthy sales growth, amidst a slowdown in the household and personal care market. We have continued to gain market shares across categories, driven by new innovations and compelling marketing programs.”
“Our international businesses also had a good quarter with significant improvements in profitability. Our teams have demonstrated great agility and resilience to deliver this market-leading performance.”
“The overall macro outlook remains turbulent. While the pace of economic recovery remains uncertain, we are hopeful that consumer sentiment will become more positive and we will see better growth in the sector in the quarters ahead. We will continue investing judiciously for the longer term to improve our competitive position and emerge stronger than ever before. I am confident that with our clear strategic focus, our superior execution and our top notch team, we will continue to deliver industry leading results in the future.”
Brands
Samsung certifies 1,000 Maharashtra students in AI and coding
The South Korean electronics giant marks its first large-scale skilling push in the state, with women making up nearly half the national programme’s enrolment
PUNE: Samsung has put 1,000 students in Maharashtra through a certified training programme in artificial intelligence and coding, the largest such drive the South Korean electronics company has run in the state and a signal that corporate India’s skilling ambitions are moving well beyond the boardroom brochure.
The certifications were awarded under Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility programme, which launched in India in 2022 with the stated aim of democratising access to future-technology education. The 1,000 graduates were drawn from four institutions: 127 from Savitribai Phule Pune University, 373 from Pimpri Chinchwad University, 250 from D.Y. Patil University’s Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and 250 from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Kalsekar Technical Campus. All completed training in either AI or coding and programming, the two disciplines Samsung has identified as the critical pillars of the digital economy.
The programme does not stop at technical training. Soft-skills development and career-readiness modules are baked into the curriculum, a deliberate attempt to close the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want.
“India’s digital growth story will ultimately be shaped by the quality of its talent pipeline,” said Shubham Mukherjee, head of CSR and corporate communications at Samsung Southwest Asia. “As technologies like AI move from the periphery to the core of industries, skilling must evolve from basic training to building real-world capability. This milestone in Maharashtra reflects how industry and academia can come together to create a future-ready workforce that is both globally competitive and locally relevant.”
The Maharashtra drive sits within a rapidly scaling national effort. Samsung Innovation Campus trained 20,000 young people across India in 2025, hitting its stated target for the year. Women account for 48 per cent of national enrolments, a figure the company cites as evidence of its push for an inclusive technology ecosystem. The programme is implemented in partnership with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
Samsung, which is marking 30 years in India this year, runs SIC alongside two other initiatives, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung DOST, as part of a broader effort to build what it calls a generation of innovators with both the technical depth and the problem-solving mindset to thrive in a fast-moving digital world.
A thousand certified students is a tidy headline. Whether they find jobs that match their new skills is the harder question, and the one that will ultimately determine whether corporate skilling programmes like this one are genuine pipelines or well-photographed gestures.
