Dabur to open new plant, invest Rs.500 cr

The Dollar Business Bureau

In order to expand its manufacturing prowess, Dabur India Ltd is going to invest around Rs 500 crore this year. This comprises an amount of Rs 250 crore to establish a new manufacturing unit in Assam, for healthcare and personal products.

The company said that its board on Thursday approved an investment of Rs 250 crore to set up a manufacturing unit at Tezpur, Assam, in order to meet the increasing demand for its products. The unit is expected to start the operations in 2017.

The company will also use a portion of the investment to upgrade the capabilities of its facilities abroad. With 20 manufacturing units, Dabur operates 12 in India and the remaining in countries like Nepal, Egypt and the US.

Though overall market for FMCG products remain challenging and demand from customers stable, Dabur still witnessed considerable growth across its major categories such as Home Care, Oral Care, Foods and Hair Oils, during the fourth quarter of last fiscal.

The company’s net profit in fourth quarter of 2015-16 jumped 16.6 percent surge to Rs.331.9 crore compared to Rs.284.8 crore in the same quarter of previous year. The net sales for the quarter ended March this year rose 10.9 percent to Rs.2,157.3 crore, compared to Rs.1,944.8 crore a year earlier.

A company statement on Thursday quoted Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India Ltd as saying, "We were dealing with a harsh economic environment due to volatility in currency and geopolitical disturbances in major economies of the world. However, our strong business model and capability to effectively manage the challenges from external environment have enabled us to mark a robust and constant performance even in the wake of increasing competitive pressures.”

“Dabur India’s performance indicators show the success of its strategic policies. Our FMCG business in India rose 8.5 percent during the fourth quarter of 2015-16 in terms of value, and grew 7 percent in terms of volume," he said.

The company will also bank upon its strong range of herbal and personal care products and get benefits of the increasing preferences of consumers towards natural and Ayurvedic products," he added.