Bajaj Consumer Care Q4 FY26: A strong finish, with margins back in focus

Bajaj Consumer Care closed Q4 FY26 with a sharp improvement in growth and profitability. On a consolidated basis, net sales rose to INR 326.5 crore, up 32.3% year on year. EBITDA came in at INR 77.4 crore, up 135.2%, with EBITDA margin expanding to 23.7%. Profit after tax rose to INR 63.6 crore, up 105.2%, taking PAT margin to 19.5%.

The full year FY26 numbers underline why management called it a turnaround year. Consolidated revenue grew to INR 1,153.4 crore, a 21.4% increase, and crossed the INR 1,000 crore milestone for the first time. Gross margin expanded to 60.1% (up 664 bps year on year), while EBITDA rose to INR 224.4 crore (up 70.9%) with a margin of 19.5%. PAT increased to INR 190.2 crore (up 51.8%) with a margin of 16.5%.

Q4 and FY26 financial snapshot

The quarter was defined by margin expansion and a strong topline. Q4 consolidated gross margin rose to 63.6%, supported by pricing actions, revenue management, and mix improvement. Management also referred to pack mileage changes taken earlier, which improved realisations without, in its view, materially hurting demand.

On costs, the quarter benefited from the fact that consumption-level inflation had not meaningfully hit the P&L in Q4. Management explicitly said that, by and large, inflation had not flowed through in Q4 consumption. That helped explain the strong jump in gross margin despite rising raw material prices in the market.

Brand momentum and the role of revenue management

Management highlighted that its core brand, Almond Drops Hair Oil (ADHO), continued a strong run. The domestic business recorded strong growth in the quarter and the full year, and management said ADHO grew in the twenties for FY26.

Volume commentary was more nuanced. For Q4, management said ADHO saw near double-digit volume growth on an adjusted ml basis, and mid-single digit volume growth without that adjustment. In other words, part of the reported growth came from pack changes and better realisations, supported by demand stability. Management also said it continued to register volume market share gains on both a last three months (L3M) and MAT basis.

Advertising and promotion intensity was maintained. Consolidated advertising spend in Q4 rose 34% year on year, and management said it was satisfied with share-of-voice levels and digital campaign performance.

Channel mix: GT recovery, OT scale, and Aarohan execution

Channel performance was another key driver. The investor presentation noted that General Trade outperformed Organized Trade on a full-year basis, delivering high-teen growth. Rural recovery continued, with Q4 registering strong twenties growth for the quarter and double-digit growth for the year.

Organized Trade is now nearly 30% of company salience, according to the presentation. OT delivered twenties growth for both the quarter and the year, with modern trade, e-commerce, and q-commerce growing ahead of overall OT. CSD/CPC growth was modest double digit in Q4, but flat for the year due to CPC headwinds.

A key execution lever is Project Aarohan, the company’s distribution strengthening initiative. Management said that in states where Aarohan was implemented, it observed around a 2% to 3% performance improvement versus states where it had not. In a separate response, it referenced a roughly 4% growth delta between Aarohan and non-Aarohan. The company has now extended Aarohan to Phase 3, with design and implementation milestones shown across multiple states.

Management also indicated that ADHO benefits more broadly from Aarohan because it gains across urban, wholesale, and rural go-to-market routes, while the rest of the portfolio benefits more in retail.

Growth portfolio: from INR 225 crore to an INR 500 crore ambition

Beyond ADHO, Bajaj Consumer Care reported that its non-ADHO “growth portfolio” reached annual sales of INR 225 crore in FY26. The company said this portfolio is net contribution positive, with single digit margins. Coconut is the largest part of this portfolio, followed by Banjara’s.

Management stated an aspiration to take this growth portfolio to INR 500 crore over the next three years. It also clarified that this ambition is based on the current portfolio and any acquisitions would be incremental.

On Banjara’s, management said it was the first year under Bajaj ownership, delivered double-digit growth for the year and low-teen margins. It also said scale is the biggest lever for margin improvement, given Banjara’s is still a sub-INR 100 crore business, and that operating it as a separate business unit is a deliberate choice to prioritise growth over cost integration.

International business and commodity risks

International business remained a weak spot at the aggregate level. The presentation noted sequential improvement, but marginal year-on-year decline in the quarter and a weak double-digit decline for FY26. Nepal and Bangladesh were highlighted as focus markets that continued to grow at both quarter and year level. The company noted improved profitability in Nepal and breakeven in Bangladesh. RoW and GCC and Africa remained weak.

Input costs are a near-term risk. Management said volatility in LLP and packaging, linked to geopolitical events, has been high. It also said mustard and copra have not cooled further as expected, and it is monitoring costs on a near daily basis. The company indicated it may need pricing actions and cost optimisation, and mentioned that it may need to take some frontal pricing in the current quarter to manage inflation.

Closing takeaways

Bajaj Consumer Care’s Q4 FY26 performance reflects a combination of strong topline delivery and substantial margin recovery. The company has paired brand investments with revenue management and distribution execution, while also building a second growth leg through a non-ADHO portfolio that has reached INR 225 crore in FY26.

The next phase will depend on how quickly input cost volatility flows into consumption, and whether pricing and mix actions can protect the margin zone management aspires to maintain. International business remains an area to watch, with management expecting sequential improvement over the next two quarters after leadership changes. Overall, FY26 sets a stronger base than the company had four to five quarters ago, but the sustainability of peak margins will be tested in a volatile commodity environment.