Dabur India’s management on Thursday said Covid-related challenges were far from over, but drawing lessons from the past year, the company is better positioned to tackle such challenges.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman, Dabur India, said, “The challenges of Covid are far from over. The emergence of the second wave earlier this year and talks of another wave likely in the future means that we might have to cope with the related challenges in the months to come. That said, I am happy to state that we, as an organisation, are better prepared to handle these challenges as compared to last year.”

Burman said that the decision to adopt a “fearless and agile” organisation design helped Dabur India “ successfully ride the storm” in FY21.

Performance numbers

Despite the pandemic, the company said its consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹9,562 crore in FY21, up 10 per cent. Consolidated net profit for the period under review stood at ₹1,693 crore, a 17.2 per cent jump over the previous year. The FMCG major said it gained market share in key categories including shampoos, toothpaste, hair oils, chywanprash and packaged juices and nectars during the past fiscal year.

“This strong performance comes from the high degree of resilience that we have built into our business through a series of consumer-centric and tactical innovations, coupled with continued investments behind our Power Brand strategy, distribution enhancement initiatives and increased flexibility into our planning and go-to-market strategies,” he added. Burman said as the country battled with the second pandemic wave, it “ stayed true to its Ayurvedic roots” and rolled out a series of initiatives for the health and safety of its employees.

The FMCG major said it added ₹500-crore turnover to the health supplements portfolio, which includes Dabur Honey and Dabur Chywanprash, in the past fiscal. Dabur Red Paste touched the ₹1,000 crore-sales mark in FY21.

“With the vaccination drive gaining momentum, let us hope that full normalcy gets restored within this year,” Burman added.

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