Brands
Parag milk foods posts record Rs 1,013 cr revenue despite cost surge
MUMBAI: Parag milk foods limited has clocked its highest-ever quarterly revenue at Rs 1,013 cr in Q3 FY26, rising 14 per cent year-on-year, driven by robust demand across core dairy categories and a sharp surge in its new-age businesses.
Volume growth stood at 8 per cent, with ghee, cheese and paneer posting a combined 12 per cent rise, while value growth touched 21 per cent. The company’s premium verticals Pride of Cows and Avvatar delivered a striking 123 per cent jump in revenues, crossing Rs 100 cr in a quarter for the first time.
Gross profit increased 9 per cent to Rs 262 cr, though margins softened to 25.9 per cent as milk prices climbed nearly 20 per cent year-on-year. EBITDA slipped 3 per cent to Rs 77 cr, while adjusted profit after tax stood at Rs 35 cr.
For the nine months ended December FY26, revenue rose 14 per cent to Rs 2,872 cr, with adjusted PAT up 17 per cent to Rs 109 cr.
The company continued aggressive brand-building, expanding Gowardhan and Go through television and digital campaigns on Kaun Banega Crorepati season 25 and Super Dancer, targeting mass family audiences. To deepen household penetration, the company introduced Gowardhan cow ghee in a 20 ml sachet priced at Rs 20, aimed at first-time and value-conscious consumers across urban and rural markets.
Premium brand Pride of Cows strengthened its positioning through multi-platform campaigns focused on purity, traceability and quality. Meanwhile, Avvatar reinforced its sports nutrition credentials by onboarding Janhvi Kapoor as the face of its marketing initiatives to connect with younger, health-conscious consumers.
Parag milk foods executive director Akshali Shah, said the milestone quarter reflected strong consumer trust and the company’s ability to navigate inflation through pricing, portfolio mix and premiumisation.
Shah noted that commodity inflation is likely to persist in the near term, but said the company is well positioned to navigate the pressure through strong brands, superior offerings and a disciplined focus on innovation and distribution expansion to deliver long-term profitable growth.
Founded in 1992, Parag milk foods limited operates manufacturing facilities at Manchar in Maharashtra and Palamaner in Andhra Pradesh, with an integrated dairy farm, Bhagyalaxmi Dairy Farm Limited, housing over 5,000 cows. The company markets cow milk-based products under Gowardhan and Go brands, runs the premium farm-to-home brand Pride of Cows, and operates in sports nutrition through Avvatar, India’s first 100 per cent vegetarian whey protein brand.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
