Adi Godrej to bow out from board of directors of GCPL

Packaged consumer goods company Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) on Wednesday announced that Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej will step down from the board of directors of GCPL effective 30 September 2021. Godrej, 79, will remain chairman emeritus at the maker of Cinthol soaps and Goodknight mosquito repellents.

“It has been a privilege to serve Godrej Consumer Products. I am grateful to our board for their continued guidance, to all our team members for their passion for Godrej and helping build a company that we can all be proud of, and to our customers, business partners, shareholders, investors, and communities, for their deep partnership over the years,” Godrej said.

“The foundations of our company are very strong and I am very confident that Nisa (Nisaba Godrej) and our leadership team will continue to build forward and create even more sustainable, long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said.

The company also announced the elevation of Sameer Shah, GCPL’s current head of finance and investor relations as the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) effective 1 September 2021.

Shah will take over from V. Srinivasan, GCPL’s current CFO and company secretary, who is stepping down to pursue opportunities outside of the company, the company said in a filing.

Shah has worked at GCPL for 15 years across leadership roles, including being the CFO of the company’s India and SAARC cluster. Rahul Botadara has been appointed as the company secretary and compliance officer of the company with effect from 1 September 2021.

Earlier this year, the company had also announced the appointment of Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s, Sudhir Sitapati as its managing director and chief executive officer effective 18 October 2021.

In 2017, the Godrej Group had announced the elevation of Nisaba Godrej, Adi Godrej’s daughter, as the executive chairman of GCPL. Adi Godrej had then moved on to the role of chairman emeritus of the company.

On Wednesday, GCPL also announced earnings for the June quarter. The company reported a 24% jump in quarterly consolidated sales, up from ₹2,311 crore it reported in the year ago period to ₹2,862 crore now. Its net profit for the three months ended 30 June was up 4.75% at ₹413.66. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, or Ebitda, grew 29%. The company’s India business sales grew by 19% year-on-year.

GCPL reported a broad-based growth within categories of home care and personal care, it said in its earnings presentation. In India, the home care business grew by 21%, while personal care grew by 17%. Its home care brands include Protekt, which sells a range of surface disinfectants as well as Ezee fabric care products. Hair colours grew in strong double-digits albeit on a low base, it said.

Within the personal care and hygiene category the company navigated high input cost through calibrated price increases.

“We have a robust pipeline of consumer-centric innovations and are building out full portfolios across price points. At the same time, we are strengthening our supply chain operations and distribution networks. We are also ramping up digital capabilities and new channels like e-commerce and chemists,” said Nisaba Godrej, chairperson and managing director, GCPL.