MUMBAI: AWL Agri Business Ltd expects a recovery in volume growth in FY27, led by a turnaround in its foods segment, management said on Tuesday.
“As far as volume growth is concerned, edible oil should continue to grow at a mid-single digit,” said Shrikant Kanhere, managing director and chief executive of AWL Agri Business Ltd, in an interaction with Mint. “Food is something we want to turn around next year with double-digit volume growth.”
AWL Agri Business, formerly known as Adani Wilmar, reported underlying volume growth of 4% in FY26, with 14% growth in the March quarter (Q4FY26). The food and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business posted underlying volume growth of 3% year-on-year in FY26, compared with 26% growth in FY25.
The company sells basmati rice under Fortune and Kohinoor brands, atta and soya products under Fortune, and sauces and condiments under the Tops brand.
“AWL is successfully shifting its core from bulk commodity distribution to high-realization branded segments, such as Fortune functional oils and Kohinoor premium staples,” said analysts Aniket Salunke and Ravi Nagdev of Sunrise Gilts & Securities Pvt. Ltd in a note. “The result is a more resilient revenue stream that is less dependent on sheer quantity and more focused on unit-level profitability.”
AWL Agri Business posted a 53% jump in consolidated net profit to ₹292 crore in Q4 FY26, from ₹190 crore a year earlier, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday. Revenue from operations rose 17.7% year-on-year to ₹21,464.7 crore, from ₹18,229.5 crore in the same period last year. The board has recommended a final dividend of ₹1 per equity share (100%) for FY26.
Alternate channels—e-commerce, quick commerce and modern trade—delivered volume growth of 43% year-on-year in Q4FY26, with strong performance across sub-channels. Kanhere said quick commerce tends to drive sales of smaller packs, typically bought for immediate consumption. “It is good also because the smaller SKU actually gives you a better margin,” he added.
Kanhere said raw material price movements remain difficult to predict, citing multiple global factors beyond geopolitical tensions such as the Iran-US conflict. “There are a lot of other factors which impact the edible oil supply chain, including the pricing. It is affected by energy prices going up and therefore a lot of countries are allocating more and more quotas of edible oil into biodiesel. Any change happening on the FX front also has an impact on the prices,” he said, adding that price hikes would be taken only if unavoidable.
The FMCG sector has been bracing for the impact of El Niño and weak monsoon forecasts by the Indian Meteorological Department. Kanhere said that while about 70% of AWL’s sales come from urban markets, the company is prepared.
“So our business model is such that all our products fall under the daily use products. What you cut down is a typical FMCG product like shampoo,” he said. “In our case, max to max what customers do is he tries to do a downtrading to a lower brand, and that we address through our brand architecture where we have all the brands with us. We have a premium brand, we have a masstige brand. So we try to contain the customer within our network,” he said.
Analysts are also watching the stock, which has underperformed the benchmark this year. The stock is down 14.26% on the National Stock Exchange, compared with an 8.2% decline in the Nifty 50 since January. “AWL is fundamentally stronger today than it was a year ago, but the management must now navigate a ‘high-cost’ environment where operational excellence will be the only differentiator between growth and stagnation,” the analysts from Sunrise Gilts & Securities added.
Shares of the company closed 0.50% lower at ₹204.91 on Tuesday, while the Nifty 50 ended down 0.40%.