India's Godrej Consumer posts quarterly profit decline as tax cuts disrupt sales

Godrej Consumer Products

31/10/2025 11:47

Oct 31 (Reuters) - India's Godrej Consumer Products GOCP.NS reported a quarterly profit drop on Friday, hurt by a temporary sales disruption following the government's sweeping tax cuts.

Consolidated net profit fell 6.5% to 4.59 billion rupees ($52.22 million) in the second-quarter ended September 30.

Revenue rose 4% to 38.02 billion rupees, while expenses climbed 6.4%.

Short-term disruptions notwithstanding, the tax cuts were a "welcome structural reform" set to strengthen long-term consumer demand, the company said.

KEY CONTEXT

Second-quarter results of several Indian consumer goods companies reflected short-term sales disruptions towards the end of the quarter, as retailers rushed to liquidate higher-priced inventory predating the tax adjustment.

Godrej, which sells Cinthol soaps and Goodknight mosquito repellants, had flagged the issue earlier this month, saying retailers clearing older stocks at higher prices have delayed flow of new orders, with the disruption particularly acute in the soaps and hair color categories.

The disruption also weighed on the profits of toothpaste-maker Colgate Palmolive India COLG.NS and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS, home of brands such as Dove soaps and Surf Excel detergent.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Price/Sales
Revenue growth (%)
Profit growth (%)
Mean rating*
# of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd
GOCP.NS
45.58
27.56
6.91
9.70
18.54
Buy
35
0.82
1.80
Hindustan Unilever Ltd
HLL.NS
51.30
35.34
8.66
6.90
7.52
Buy
21
0.89
1.74
Nestle India Ltd
NEST.NS
69.60
44.47
10.46
9.89
9.66
Hold
37
0.99
1.03
Dabur India Ltd
DABU.NS
43.32
31.25
6.37
7.84
10.54
Hold
39
0.90
1.60

* 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-SEPTEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE

-- All data from LSEG

-- $1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees

GOCP Q2 https://tmsnrt.rs/3JkZlZR

 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @MukherjeeHritam;))