Near-term growth concerns, further price cuts to cap returns for Marico

Further price cuts, higher advertising costs to weigh on margins

The Marico stock slipped 6.4 per cent in trade on weak September quarter results for the 2022-23 financial year (Q2FY23), impact of further price cuts on trade and muted near-term growth prospects. Though brokerages are expecting some softness in performance, there have not been aggressive downward revisions in earnings after the results.

The sub-par performance in the quarter was on account of lower demand and downtrading in hair and personal care category in the rural segment. Even as overall revenues were up 3.2 per cent, domestic business growth was limited to one per cent while the international business saw an