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 ?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