Colgate Palmolive India reports lower profit as tax cut announcement disrupts sales

Colgate-Palmolive (India)

23/10/2025 11:42

Oct 23 (Reuters) -

        Colgate-Palmolive's CL.N Indian unit reported a decline in second quarter profit on Thursday, due to a temporary disruption to sales after the government announced sweeping cuts to goods and services taxes.

The toothpaste maker's COLG.NS net profit for the quarter ended September 30 came in at 3.28 billion rupees ($37.32 million), down 7.2% year-on-year, excluding the impact of a one-time tax credit last year.

Revenue from operations for the toothpaste and shower gels maker dropped 6.3% year-on-year to 15.07 billion rupees.

For further results highlights, click here.

KEY CONTEXT

Colgate Palmolive India, like other local consumer firms, saw transitory disruptions in the second quarter as retailers and distributors worked to clear inventory at older prices ahead of the government's implementation of goods and services tax cuts. The cuts were announced on August 15 and implemented from September 22.

The tax cuts have delayed the flow of new orders for consumer firms, including larger peer Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, which also reported a decline in profit before tax and exceptional items earlier on Thursday.

Colgate has said in prior calls with analysts that weak urban demand has been causing consumers to use staples such as toothpaste for longer, impacting overall volumes. It said the operating environment remained "difficult" in the second quarter.

The company has been sharpening its focus on differentiated offerings that promise higher quality oral benefits to tackle these challenges, leading with a more premium portfolio.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Price/Sales
Revenue growth (%)
Profit growth (%)
Mean rating*
No. of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
Colgate-Palmolive (India)
COLG.NS
40.38
28.52
5.67
4.74
Hold
29
0.90
2.26
Hindustan Unilever
HLL.NS
53.07
37.07
8.94
7.37
8.14
Buy
20
0.95
1.66
Dabur India
DABU.NS
43.30
32.80
6.39
7.81
10.54
Hold
39
0.93
1.58
Godrej Consumer Products
GOCP.NS
46.20
27.93
7.04
9.70
18.53
Buy
35
0.83
1.76

* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

JULY TO SEPTEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE

 -- All data from LSEG

-- $1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees

Colgate-Palmolive India Stock Performance https://tmsnrt.rs/49hIvp7

 (Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)

 ((Ananta.agarwal@thomsonreuters.com;))