Chairman's Message
Mr. Mohit Burman
Chief Executive Officer
Dear Shareholders,
It is my privilege to write to all of you, our esteemed shareholders, and present the Integrated Annual Report of Dabur India Limited for the financial year 2023-24.
This year marks the 140th year of Dabur’s establishment, a milestone achieved by only a handful of enterprises and one which leads us to not only reflect on what we have achieved during this journey but also embrace the new opportunities that lie ahead.
From our origins as a small Ayurvedic medicines maker in Kolkata, it is truly incredible to see Dabur transform into a Multinational FMCG enterprise operating in over 120 markets across four continents. But what’s remained constant through this nearly one-a-half-century-long journey is our commitment to the 'Health & Well-Being of every Household'. We have remained true to that purpose for the past 140 years, and are as encouraged today about the future of our business as we have ever been.
FY 2023-24 opened strong but became challenging as the year progressed. Despite softening inflation and a general improvement in consumer sentiments, the domestic Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector witnessed a period of subdued growth during the year. The household consumption trends reflected a reduction in bulk purchases by consumers to manage expenses, allowing for discretionary spending on smaller categories. Low wage growth in rural India also resulted in downtrading by consumers. Climate change marked by uneven weather patterns such as unseasonal rainfall, delayed and contracted winter also impacted our seasonal portfolio.
The geopolitical situation in the overseas markets was not favourable with the cost-of-living crisis hitting several countries. Sharp currency devaluations led to a spike in commodity prices, driven largely by the attacks on container ships in the Red Sea.
With decisive actions and a strong stakeholder focus, we could face these imminent challenges and continue to deliver value for our stakeholders. We emerged more resilient and reinvigorated, and our confidence in our capabilities is reflected not only in our numbers but also in the trust that our consumers have placed in us, which has helped us gain market share across 95% of our portfolio during the year.
Dabur delivered another steady performance in FY 2023-24 with our Consolidated Revenue growing by 10.1% in Constant Currency (CC) terms and 7.6% in Rupee terms during the year. The India business, including Badshah, grew by 7.7%, backed by a volume growth of 5.5%, while the International Business registered a growth of 16.4% in CC terms. Our Operating Margin for the full year reached 19.4%, increasing by 60 bps over previous year.
Deepening Penetration
Even in this challenging operating environment, Dabur India Limited continued to expand its penetration in Indian households with its nature-based solutions and consumercentric innovations. Today, 8 out of every 10 Indian households is a Dabur household, using one or more Dabur products.
Dabur now has one of the largest and deepest distribution networks in the industry, covering over 7.9 Million retail outlets and reaching 122,000 villages with our wide range of products. We have added 2,00,000 outlets to our network during the year, which marks the highest addition by any FMCG company in India. Our direct reach has also gone up to 1.42 million retail outlets, and our newly carved out Therapeutics division is scaling up well with our coverage now extending to 1.1 lakh Ayurvedic and Allopathic doctors.
This year saw Dabur roll out 14 new products in line with our strategy to expand both our premium portfolio and our total addressable market. These launches also marked Dabur’s entry into several emerging and growing categories like mosquito repellent liquid vapourisers, cooling hair oils, gel toothpastes, teas, and shower gels. Our Digital First brands have grossed a collective turnover of over Rs.100 Crore.
Sustainability at our Core
We understand that to grow our business for the long term, we must embrace a holistic approach to sustainability and work towards achieving our Net Zero Emissions commitment for FY 2045. It gives me great pleasure to announce that Dabur has made significant progress in this journey in the past year. We have taken stock of our emission inventory and are preparing a detailed roadmap to achieve Net Zero Emissions.
In line with this commitment, we have eliminated coal usage across operations in FY 2023-24, a year ahead of the target. Today, 51% of our energy requirements are is met from renewable and clean sources. Despite our production volumes growing by 6% during the year, we have reduced absolute water consumption by 3%, our Water Intensity by 29% and our Energy Intensity by 16%. We also continue to be a Plastic Waste Positive company by collecting, recycling and co-processing over 40,000 MT of post-consumer plastic waste from our cities, which is 103% of the plastic waste generated by our product packaging. These are remarkable achievements and I want to congratulate each and every member of the Dabur family for these achievements.
Giving back to the society has never been more important and our development initiatives continue to provide support to communities in the markets and geographies where we operate. Our interventions have helped bring a positive and sustainable change in the lives of 3.05 Million people in FY 2023-24. The year also saw us enhance our Gender Diversity target for FY 2027-28 to 21% across all managerial positions. More details about our ESG initiatives can be seen here in the Integrated Report and in the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report.
The Road Ahead
Our foundation for future growth is set, and we are now ready to pursue our growth strategies. We are optimistic of a gradual uptick in consumption trends over the course of the next year, considering predictions of a normal monsoon, improving macroeconomic indicators, continued government spending on infrastructure building, and lower inflation.
We are confident about the resilience of our business strategy and the consumer's love for Dabur’s brands. Our Power Brands will continue to drive growth as we expand deeper into the hinterland and consumer households. We will continue to expand our rural footprint in the new fiscal and have targeted to reach 1.3 lakh villages by the end of FY 2024-25, up from 1.22 lakh at present. For the urban consumers, we will be expanding our portfolio of premium offerings and looking at entering adjacent categories.
Thank You
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank all our talented and highly passionate employees for their commitment to driving Dabur's recent success and future strategies. Their passion and energy have helped Dabur become more than just a brand, and we are now an intrinsic member of every household. They help bring to life our mission of being Dedicated to the Health & Well-Being of every Household'. I thank them for their exceptional efforts.
I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of our Management Committee and the Board of Directors. On behalf of the Burman family and all members of the board, I would also like to thank five of our esteemed board members – Mr. R C Bhargava, Dr. S Narayan, Mr. P. N Vijay, Dr. Ajay Dua and Ms. Falguni Nayar – who will be retiring from our board in July this year. I truly feel that their presence on our board has given the executive leadership the opportunity to gain invaluable insights from their varied experience.
And above all, I would like to thank our shareholders for their support and continued trust in Dabur.
Sincerely,
MOHIT BURMAN
CHAIRMAN
Annual Report 2023-24