LT Foods is eyeing Rs 11.5K-crore revenue in 5 years: CEO Ritesh Arora

LT Foods, which owns basmati brand ‘Daawat’, is eyeing revenues of Rs 11,500 crore in the next five years on the back of an overall expansion of the category and shift from unbranded to branded.

Revenues on a consolidated basis stood at Rs 6,979 crore in the financial year ending March 31, 2023 (FY23). In four years, revenues are expected to be about Rs 10,000 crore.

Ritesh Arora, chief executive officer (CEO) - India and Far East Business of LT Foods, said that post-Covid consumers were more health and hygiene conscious.

Branded consumers are at about 50 per cent of basmati consuming households. “There is a shift from loose to packet basmati. Also, with the population growth and number of households increasing, there will be a share gain,” Arora said during a media interaction.

 

Exports account for 60-65 per cent of total revenues of the firm. However, Arora said that India would grow faster than the export market. “Per capita income is going up, more people are getting added to the middle class segment… multiple factors will come into play in the next five years that will boost the economy,” he said.

As LT Foods steps up its play in the foods space, the share of value-added products would increase. “We started this initiative a couple of years ago. Today, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook contribute around 2.5 per cent of our revenues. We are focusing on this segment and growing this,” Arora said.

In the value-added segment, last year, LT Foods launched biryani kits. “We have got very good response from the market and we plan to scale it up this year,” he said. In the US, ready-to-heat products have been launched.

“In the next five to six years, we are targeting that the new products should be 10 per cent of the company’s revenues,” Arora said.

Margins in the value-added segment were higher, and range between 35-40 per cent.

“We are a foods company and we will diversify our offering,” Arora said. In line with this, last year, LT foods acquired a 51 per cent stake in Golden Star Trading in the US, which has a jasmine rice brand.

Arora said that the company was open to mergers and acquisitions in the international or domestic market. “As an organisation, we are open to exploring proposals,” he said.