AWL Agri Business targets ₹10,000 crore food by FY27

Profitability stays aligned with management estimates

AWL Agri Business said quarterly profitability was in line with management estimates, supported by disciplined execution in a stable pricing environment. The company reiterated that investors should track profitability metrics such as gross profit and EBITDA, alongside volume and revenue growth. On a standalone basis, volume grew 2% during the quarter while revenue rose 8%. On a consolidated basis, volumes increased 3% year-on-year and revenue rose 10%.

The company also pointed to steady operating performance over multiple quarters, stating it has delivered EBITDA of more than ₹600 crore quarter after quarter. Management said the difference between standalone and consolidated profitability reflected improving performance at the Bangladesh subsidiary and consolidation of GD Foods and Omkar Chemicals, both described as scaling up well.

Core brands show growth, led by Fortune and Kohinoor

Management indicated that core brands continued to perform well, with the Fortune brand in oils and foods delivering 13% year-on-year growth. Kohinoor, acquired in May 2022, registered 32% growth. The company also referenced Kinks as its second-largest brand in India.

Across the portfolio, oils and foods together grew close to 7% year-on-year. The company said growth was broad-based across channels, with alternate channels, HoReCa, and branded exports showing stronger momentum than the base business.

Category trends: edible oils improve, food mixed

AWL Agri Business described the demand environment as moderately challenging, although offtake improved in the second half of the quarter. In edible oils, volumes grew 8% with broad-based gains across categories, including double-digit growth in mustard. Management said market share improved sequentially on a quarterly basis, supported by high marketing intensity and ongoing grammage actions across the industry.

On the food side, management noted that volumes were impacted during the quarter, without providing a single consolidated reason in the provided commentary. It highlighted that products other than rice and wheat continued to grow in strong double digits and now contribute about 30% of food or FMCG volumes. These products include sugar nuggets, poha, suji, rava, maida, and related staples.

Alternate channels scale up sharply

Alternate channels remained a key focus, with management calling them “the channel of the future” and noting rapid scaling. The company said last-12-month revenue from alternate channels was close to ₹4,800 crore. Separately, another disclosure stated alternate channel revenue for LTM Sep’25 exceeded ₹4,400 crore.

During the quarter, alternate channel volumes grew 42% year-on-year. Quick commerce accounted for close to 30% of overall alternate channel volumes, and the company said it continues to invest behind this channel. One update also stated quick commerce grew 80% to 85% on an LTM basis. “Big commerce” volume grew 65% year-on-year during the quarter.

Distribution expansion: outlets and rural coverage

AWL Agri Business said it now reaches close to 9,50,000 outlets across India directly. Rural distribution was cited as scaling to over 60,000 towns in management commentary. Another update specified direct distribution reach expanded to nearly 900,000 outlets, with rural coverage at 58,000 towns, up from 50,000 towns in Mar-25.

Management said the next phase of work is to improve throughput and distribution efficiency, alongside scaling alternate channels and quick commerce.

GD Foods integration and scaling priorities

The company discussed GD Foods, which it acquired “this year,” and shared operating indicators for April 2025. It said the business delivered 15% revenue growth with underlying volume growth of 18%. Material margin was stated at 54%, while distribution expenses remained a key focus area.

Management said alternate channels grew sharply for GD Foods, helped by leveraging AWL’s distribution and infrastructure and bundling offers alongside AWL products. Priorities for GD Foods include accelerating distribution expansion, scaling channels beyond general trade, and growing tail-end products to broaden the portfolio and improve throughput.

Food strategy: reduce reliance on volatile edible oils

Across multiple disclosures, AWL Agri Business positioned packaged foods as a strategic lever to reduce dependence on the more volatile edible oil market. The company said food currently contributes about 18% to 19% of overall volume, and it intends to raise this to around 30% to 35%.

Shrikant Kanhare, MD and CEO, said the company sells over 1 million tonnes of food, generating close to ₹6,000 crore in revenue, and it aims to take food revenue to ₹10,000 crore by March 2027. Management also indicated that food offers a better margin profile than edible oils and can help de-risk commodity swings in the oils portfolio. One management update said the food segment will remain EBITDA positive, but meaningful margin contribution is expected only from FY28.

Quarterly and segment datapoints disclosed

AWL Agri Business reported its highest-ever Q1 consolidated revenue of ₹17,059 crore, with year-on-year growth of 21%. In that April-June quarter, edible oil revenue rose 26% year-on-year to ₹13,415 crore, while edible oil volumes declined 4% year-on-year. The food and FMCG segment posted ₹1,414 crore revenue in Q1, down 8% year-on-year, described as driven by “transient headwinds.” Industry essentials revenue increased to ₹2,229.88 crore from ₹1,986.26 crore.

A separate disclosure for FY25 said total revenue was ₹63,672 crore, up 24% year-on-year, supported by underlying volume growth of 9%. It also stated that import duties were raised to an effective 27.5% on crude edible oils and 35.75% on refined oils to support local production.

Analyst commentary: target price reset to ₹265

An analyst note stated it tweaked FY26 and FY27 EBITDA estimates and set a new Jun-26 price target of ₹265. The note also flagged that segment EBITDA margin expanded 370 basis points year-on-year to 4.7% in the referenced period, but saw a 110 basis point quarter-on-quarter contraction, linked to a decline in higher-margin soya nuggets.

The same note stated management focus on driving around 20% volume growth led by capacity additions, including the Gohana plant expected to be commissioned completely in Q3. It also referenced industry essentials revenue and volume growth of 19% and 20%, led by oleochemicals and de-oiled cake volumes, with castor oil and derivatives up mid-single digits.

Key metrics snapshot

What investors are likely to track next

Investors are likely to watch whether the company can lift the food contribution from 18% to 19% of volume toward its stated 30% to 35% intent, while maintaining EBITDA above ₹600 crore. Execution in alternate channels, especially quick commerce growth and its contribution to branded sales, is another visible lever given the disclosed 42% volume growth in the quarter and 80% to 85% growth cited on an LTM basis.

Operationally, updates on capacity additions such as the Gohana plant commissioning timeline and ramp-up of rice and flour mills, as well as new atta capacity in Odisha and Bihar, will matter for the company’s stated ambition of scaling food revenues to ₹10,000 crore by FY27.

Conclusion

AWL Agri Business’ recent updates emphasise steady profitability metrics, improving scale in alternate channels, and a clearer pivot toward packaged foods to reduce dependence on edible oil volatility. The company has reiterated its food growth ambition, including a ₹10,000 crore revenue target by March 2027, alongside continued investment in distribution expansion and brand campaigns. Near-term attention will stay on category volumes, the pace of alternate channel scaling, and execution on capacity additions that management and analysts have linked to future volume growth.