Jyothy Labs, the FMCG company behind brands such as Ujala, Exo, Henko, Margo and Maxo, reported an 87.9% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to ₹10.60 crore for the second quarter of FY27, compared with ₹87.76 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
Revenue from operations increased 3.3% to ₹760 crore from ₹736 crore in Q2FY26, indicating a sharp divergence between revenue growth and profitability amid rising input costs.
Despite the subdued reported revenue growth, the company’s underlying business delivered a stronger performance. Excluding sales from Pril and Fa, revenue grew 12.4% in value terms and 8.1% in volume during the quarter.
The company attributed the pressure on profitability to unprecedented inflation in crude derivatives, palm oil, chemicals and packaging materials, compounded by the consumption of higher-cost inventories.
The FMCG operating environment remained challenging, with rural consumption continuing to outperform urban markets, although the company observed signs of a gradual recovery in urban demand.
Fabric Care and Home Care drive underlying growth
Jyothy Labs’ Home Care segment delivered underlying value growth of 15.3% and volume growth of 13.1%, excluding Pril sales.
The Exo franchise continued to gain traction, supported by distribution expansion and the encouraging consumer response to its recently introduced bio-enzyme-based Exo Dishwash Liquid, endorsed by Yami Gautam and Keerthy Suresh.
The company is focusing on scaling the Exo portfolio to strengthen its position in the dishwashing category.
In Household Insecticides, Jyothy Labs expanded its Maxo portfolio with the launch of Maxo Agarbatti, featuring a government-approved mosquito-control formulation. The company is looking to scale newer product formats, improve the product mix and gradually restore profitability in this business.
Fabric Care maintained its growth momentum, recording 10.4% value growth and 6.4% volume growth during the quarter.
Growth was broad-based across liquid detergents, detergent powders and bars. Liquid detergents remained the principal growth driver, with Henko, Ujala, Morelight and Mr. White contributing to category expansion.
Ujala Young and Fresh fabric conditioner also continued to gain consumer traction.
Personal Care records 11.2% value growth
The Personal Care segment, comprising body soaps, hand wash and toothpaste, registered 11.2% value growth during the quarter, although volumes declined marginally.
The performance reflected the impact of pricing actions and a favourable comparative base following last year’s GST transition.
The Margo franchise benefited from focused brand investments and improved market visibility. The company also introduced Margo Gentle, a glycerine-based bathing soap, in Argan Oil and Moringa Oil variants in select markets.
The launch is aimed at expanding Margo’s presence in differentiated personal cleansing products.
Commodity inflation weighs on margins
The sharp decline in profitability came despite healthy underlying volume growth across the company’s major product categories.
Elevated prices of crude derivatives, palm oil, chemicals and packaging materials increased input costs, while consumption of higher-cost inventories added to the pressure.
Jyothy Labs said it was pursuing calibrated pricing actions, procurement efficiencies, value engineering and improvements in product mix to progressively restore margins.
The company also intends to protect consumer demand and brand competitiveness while managing the impact of rising costs.
Management confident of sustaining double-digit growth
Jyothy Labs Chairperson and Managing Director M R Jyothy said the underlying business delivered 12.4% value growth and 8.1% volume growth, excluding Pril and Fa, supported by Fabric Care, Exo and new product launches.
She acknowledged that unprecedented inflation in raw materials and packaging costs had significantly affected profitability despite pricing and cost-efficiency measures.
While near-term margin pressures could persist, the company remains confident of sustaining double-digit underlying value growth in the coming quarters.
Its priorities include accelerating new product launches, strengthening core brands and restoring margins through calibrated pricing, operational efficiencies and disciplined cost management.
Jyothy Labs also said its strong balance sheet provides financial flexibility to pursue organic expansion and selective inorganic growth opportunities, while maintaining discipline in capital allocation.
For the FMCG company, the immediate challenge will be to convert healthy underlying volume growth into improved earnings as commodity inflation and consumer affordability pressures continue to weigh on operating performance