Dabur India beats profit estimates on higher demand for household products

CHENNAI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Consumer goods maker Dabur India (DABU.NS) reported second-quarter profit above market expectations on Thursday, benefiting from rising demand in its household and personal care and healthcare segments.

The companys consolidated net profit rose 5% to 5.15 billion Indian rupees ($61.89 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 4.9 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 5.13 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Increasing demand for personal care products and stiff competition has prompted major consumer goods makers from Colgate-Palmolive India (COLG.NS) to Dabur to launch new products, including toothpaste variants.

Revenue from operations climbed 7.3% to 32.04 billion rupees.

In its quarterly update last month, Dabur said its healthcare as well as household and personal care businesses - housing products ranging from Vatika shampoos to its digestive supplement brand Hajmola - posted a high single-digit percentage growth in India.

The household and personal care segment accounted for more than 50% of Dabur Indias sales. India also makes up roughly three-fourths of the companys topline.

The jury, however, is out on natural healthcare products, with a few medical professionals questioning their safety and efficiency on social media platforms, including X, formerly called Twitter. Dabur subsidiaries were also sued in the U.S. and Canada.

After a lacklustre quarter for the consumer goods industry, analysts expect sales volumes to recover in the second half of fiscal 2024 on expectations of a pickup in farm incomes - which will boost rural demand - and signs of cooling inflation.

Dabur shares rose more than 2% after reporting results, trimming their year-to-date decline to nearly 6%, while the Nifty FMCG index climbed nearly 17% this year.

($1 = 83.2170 Indian rupees)