The Chatter: Marico, DLF, BSE, Nykaa & More
Q1 FY27 | Edition #76
Welcome to the 76th edition of The Chatter — a newsletter where we dig through what India’s biggest companies are saying and bring you the most interesting bits of insight, whether about the business, its sector, or the wider economy. We read every major Indian earnings call and listen to the interviews so you don’t have to.
We’re always eager to improve—please share your ideas on how else we can innovate “The Chatter” format to better serve your needs.
In this edition, we have covered 6 companies across 6 industries.
FMCG
Marico Ltd
Real Estate
DLF
Financial Services
BSE Ltd
Retail
Nykaa
Engineering & Capital Goods
Inox India
Auto Ancillary
UNO Minda
FMCG
Marico Ltd. | Large Cap | FMCG
Marico is a leading Indian consumer goods company with a global presence in beauty and wellness across hair care, edible oils, and personal care. The firm is currently undergoing a structural transformation to diversify its portfolio through premium personal care, healthy foods, and digital-first brands.
[Concall]
The flagship Parachute brand achieved a five-year high in volume growth following strategic price reductions and market share gains. Management is leveraging its supply chain scale to outmaneuver smaller competitors during volatile raw material price cycles.
“Parachute Rigids delivered 10% volume growth, its strongest performance in the last 20 quarters, and gained more than 400 basis points in volume share, marking a new high. Revenue grew 23%, reflecting the anniversarization of prior-year price increases and pricing actions taken during the quarter, as we proactively passed on value to consumers in non-price-point large packs amid softening copra prices. Beyond the strong quarterly outcome, the performance underscores the enduring strength of the franchise and the competitive advantage we have built in the supply chain compared with smaller players over the decades. Our expertise in managing commodity cycles, combined with a differentiated supply chain and sharp execution, enables us to respond faster to market changes, based on the learnings from the past few cycles in which we have taken price drops.”
— Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO
While primary raw material costs for coconut oil remain low, rising crude and vegetable oil prices will likely pressure margins in the second quarter. The company remains committed to its long-term vision of reaching 20,000 crores in revenue by the end of the decade.
“Copra prices have corrected meaningfully. While they have seen some upward bias recently, we expect prices to remain range-bound at around 35% lower than last year’s peak levels. On the other hand, crude and vegetable oils continue to exhibit an upward bias, and consequently, we expect input costs to be relatively higher in Q2. As we advance towards our Vision 2030 of achieving 20,000 crores in revenues with a mid-teens EBITDA CAGR, our focus remains clear: strengthen our core franchises, expand into adjacencies where we have the right to win, scale up our digital businesses profitably, and further diversify our international growth engines.”
— Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO
The company intends to challenge dominant players in the almond hair oil segment using its improved distribution network. Management sees this as a major disruption opportunity similar to their historical success in the amla hair oil market.
“Coming to the almond category, in any category where a market leader makes supernormal profits without significant innovation, there is a case for disruption. We proved that with Amla when we started that journey. At one point, we had 9% market share while the leader had 78%, and then we achieved market leadership. I believe there is a case for disruption in this category. Over the last 1-2 years, our resource allocation matrix has focused on fewer, bigger, better, and bolder initiatives. Project Setu has given us access to distribution and provided us with a case to believe that we can take significant market share in this category. Our ability to execute has reasonably developed today; it is a machine that is executing this strategy. Therefore, given the size of the category, I believe 100 crores is a fair ambition.”
— Management, Executive
Investments in AI for demand forecasting have allowed Marico to maintain very low inventory levels at the distributor level. This efficiency enables the company to pass on price changes to consumers much faster than the industry standard of two months.
“The other thing we have done very well this time is that, because of significant investment in AI-led demand sensing and forecasting and across the entire supply chain, our overall pipeline is very thin. I believe that, across the entire FMCG category, our distributor stock is going to be among the lowest. Therefore, in the past, any price drop used to take 8-10 weeks to take effect in the market. This time, it has happened much faster. Secondly, what has also changed is that, by taking only one price drop, and because the other thing we did last year was to smoothen all trade spends, with no month-end spends, the pipeline is extremely clear. There are no blockages in the pipeline. This has resulted in a significant impact in terms of growth returning in the larger packs.”
— Management, Executive
Despite extreme seventy percent price spikes in packaging and crude-based materials, the company expects to maintain its gross margins. The financial math implies a potential operating margin expansion of up to 150 basis points for the full year.
“If you look at the gross margin in this quarter, we expanded by approximately 30 basis points versus Q1 FY26. While there are benefits from lower copra prices, at the same time, you also have to be mindful that crude-led derivatives such as LLP and polymers are experiencing a significant cost increase. For both these items, the cost increase has been in the range of 60-70%. Therefore, it will be a mix of gains from the consumption of lower copra prices that we witnessed in Q1 and the higher impact of LLP, polymers, and edible oil prices. We have not passed on the entire cost impact to the consumer. On the guidance side, it is very difficult to provide guidance on gross margin because we believe it will be a mix of both factors. However, we will try to hold the gross margin percentage at the level of last year. Regarding EBITDA margins, providing quarter-wise guidance could be difficult. However, on a full-year basis, you heard Saugata mention that high-teens growth is the base case, and we will try for 20% growth for the full year. If you do the reverse math and assume that 15,000 crores is something we should definitely deliver, the reverse math would suggest that EBITDA margin could expand by around 140-150 basis points compared with last year.”
— Management, Executive
The company is prioritizing cold-pressed oils because they offer significantly higher profit margins than traditional edible oils. Management is willing to sacrifice lower-margin sales in certain channels to improve the overall quality of earnings for the Saffola brand.
“I believe cold-pressed oil is a category of the future, and therefore we are investing in it. I believe that by next year it will represent a sizable portion of the Saffola business. It also makes sense for multiple large players to invest behind the category and grow it. It is a category of the future, and that is what we are pivoting towards. We are selectively choosing not to have a certain part of the Saffola business in some channels below a threshold level of profitability. To answer your question, Saffola Gold has not been impacted by cold-pressed oils. It has a gross margin that is far superior to the core Saffola edible oil gross margin.”
— Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO
Real Estate
DLF | Large Cap | Real Estate
DLF Limited is a real estate development company engaged in colonization, land acquisition, planning, construction, and marketing of projects. They also offer leasing, maintenance services, and recreational activities, contributing to the overall development of their business.
[Concall]
While discussing financial reporting, the company highlighted when the significant embedded profits from its ongoing projects will begin flowing through the P&L.
“We strongly believe that FY28 would be an inflection point from a reporting perspective, wherein all our large products, starting from The Arbor, will start to contribute to the P&L. Consequently, we will start to unlock the significant gross margin potential that we have been highlighting over the last several quarters. Just to remind you, the gross margin potential as it stands today is approximately ₹39,000 crore.”
— Badal Bagri, Group CFO
After a period of uncertainty driven by AI concerns and geopolitical tensions, management believes leasing activity is picking up again.
“Over the last two quarters there has been a fair amount of debate on the impact of AI on hiring by multinationals and GCCs. There was also uncertainty because of the Iran-US conflict. These factors slowed decision-making, but over the last four to five weeks I personally see green shoots of international companies coming back, making enquiries and starting to take decisions. I believe Q2 and Q3 will be good quarters from that point of view.”
— Sriram Khattar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Rental Business
While responding to a question on sales momentum, management highlighted the remarkable success of the flagship ultra-luxury project.
“Dahlias has been the biggest success so far over the last eighteen months. We are almost 65% sold. We have created history in terms of the first nine weeks of sales as well as in terms of the collections that are coming in. The price realisation of Dahlias is now over ₹1 lakh per square foot and on the higher floors it is touching ₹1.20 lakh to ₹1.25 lakh per square foot.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
The company explained why sales may appear slower despite very strong demand.
“The pricing algorithm for Dahlias states that the price increases now are going to be reasonably steep. Therefore, the entry level for Dahlias is now ₹100 crore plus. It requires that kind of attention and time.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
The buyer profile for Dahlias has expanded well beyond Delhi-NCR.
“The good thing is that we now have interest in Dahlias from all over the country and outside India. More than 25% to 30% of our business is now coming from the rest of India and outside India through NRIs. There is considerable interest in Dahlias across the country.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
Responding to questions on data centres, management clarified its long-term strategy.
“The data centre business consists of three different components. One is real estate, the second is power, and the third is the technology. At DLF, we have decided to focus only on the real estate business. We are constructing data centres for companies as real estate developers, but we are not getting into the business of buying the technology and running the data centres ourselves, and we do not intend to do so.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
Investors questioned whether delays in the Goa residential project could affect the company’s annual pre-sales target. Management remained confident of achieving its guidance.
“The Goa component, if at all it was included in the ₹20,000 crore guidance, was only about a couple of thousand crore—roughly around 10% of the guidance. Hopefully, we should be able to make up for it very comfortably. I don’t think we should be losing any sleep over that number, frankly.”
— Ashok Tyagi, Managing Director
Following the success of its first Mumbai project, the company indicated that it is actively evaluating additional opportunities.
“We have looked at some opportunities and we are exploring others as we speak. This project was supposed to be a dipping-our-toes-in-the-water project for us. Fortunately, it has done very well. We feel much more enthused and confident about being able to work in Mumbai, but we will obviously remain very selective in taking projects where we believe we can truly add value. In that sense, Mumbai continues to be part of our medium- and long-term strategy.”
— Ashok Tyagi, Managing Director
Management clarified speculation around the future development mix within the Privana township.
“To reiterate, Privana continues to be a high-rise scheme. The small plotted enclave there, if at all, will only be for certain collaborator obligations and nothing else.”
— Ashok Tyagi, Managing Director
The company provided an updated outlook for rental income across the group.
“At the group level, the exit rentals for FY27 will be between ₹7,300 crore and ₹7,500 crore.”
— Ashok Tyagi, Managing Director
Discussing buyer behavior at the ultra-premium end, the company said demand continues to be driven by genuine wealth creation rather than speculative activity.
“We continue to see very strong demand in the luxury segment. The buyer profile is becoming broader, with participation not only from Delhi-NCR but also from other parts of India and overseas. The quality of demand continues to remain extremely encouraging.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
Rather than accelerating sales volumes, DLF intends to maximize long-term value through calibrated price increases.
“We are not in any hurry to sell. We believe the product deserves the pricing it commands, and we will continue to increase prices in a calibrated manner while maintaining the exclusivity of the development.”
— Akash Ohri, Managing Director & Chief Business Officer
Despite temporary delays in leasing decisions, management believes India’s GCC story remains firmly intact.
“The demand from global capability centres remains very healthy. There may have been some delays in decision-making because of global developments, but we do not see any structural change in demand.”
— Sriram Khattar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Rental Business
Retail
Nykaa | Mid Cap | Retail
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited, known as Nykaa, is a digitally native consumer technology platform offering a content-led, lifestyle retail experience. Established in 2012, the company focuses on brand discovery, offering a diverse range of beauty, personal care, and fashion products. Nykaa has its own brand products and provides consumers with an Omnichannel experience catering to their preferences and convenience.
[Concall]
Management estimates their target market will expand to 100 million online shoppers within five years as India’s income levels rise. This large pool of potential customers provides a long runway for future growth.
“The answer definitely lies in the fact that online Fashion has reached a level of approximately 55-65 million consumers who have bought Fashion online. These are serious online Fashion consumers. In many ways, we have always believed that this represented the available headroom for us. On top of that, given the way income levels are shifting, we believe that number itself will be about 100 million in the next 5 years. We therefore believe that somewhere between 65 million and 100 million will be the relevant TAM for Nykaa.”
— Falguni Nayar, MD & CEO
The quick-delivery service is helping Nykaa sell everyday personal items like face washes that people previously bought elsewhere. This opens up a new, frequent revenue stream from basic hygiene products that weren’t core to their luxury-focused platform.
“What is interesting on Nykaa Now is that new subcategories are starting to see incremental growth, such as certain personal-care categories that customers need in a hurry. These include low-ASP face washes, cleansers and bath gels. These are also purely incremental business for us because historically Nykaa did not have a significant role to play in these categories.”
— Anchit Nayar, CEO Beauty
Management is scaling its 60-minute delivery service, Nykaa Now, to more than 25 cities to compete in the quick-commerce space. By offering a much wider beauty assortment than general competitors, they aim to capture more frequent and unplanned consumer purchases.
“I’m happy to say that Nykaa Now has expanded and accelerated its growth quite remarkably. From being present in just three cities with a limited assortment in Q1 FY26, today we are present in 13 cities with more than 1,000 brands available through Nykaa Now. We are not only delivering packages within 60 minutes, which we believe is competitive, but more importantly, we are offering the widest assortment of beauty and personal care products available among any of the quick-commerce platforms in the country. We are combining speed with choice, and I think that is an important differentiator in our strategy. In terms of expansion, we plan to be present in more than 25 cities by the end of FY27.”
— Anchit Nayar, CEO Beauty
The beauty segment is growing by both reaching more people and encouraging existing customers to spend more per order. This dual approach indicates a healthy customer base that is maturing and buying higher-value products over time.
“We have spoken in the past about the two main pillars of the Beauty vertical’s growth strategy: penetration and premiumization, and both of those pillars are playing out nicely for us. On the penetration side, we have increased the number of visits to our platform to close to half a billion in Q1 FY27, which is a 22% year-on-year growth. The number of annual unique transacting customers on the platform has now crossed 20 million. In terms of premiumization, we are seeing positive signs on that front, with average order values at the aggregate level growing by roughly 5%. If I look at the average order values split between new and existing customers, the growth and premiumization of the customer’s basket is even more obvious.”
— Anchit Nayar, CEO Beauty
Engineering & Capital Goods
Inox India | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
INOX India Limited is an ISO 9001 and OHSAS-18001 certified Cryogenic Engineering Company specializing in insulation technology equipment and systems. They are the largest manufacturer of Cryogenic liquid storage and transport tanks in India, serving top Gas Companies globally like Air Liquide, Linde, and Praxair.
[Concall]
After receiving more than ₹500 crore of orders in consecutive quarters, management indicated that lumpy aerospace and mini-LNG terminal orders could drive growth significantly above its earlier assumptions.
“We normally receive many lumpy orders, such as the order we recently received from the aerospace company and perhaps a few mini-LNG terminal orders. Such projects definitely increase our order intake substantially.
We are quite hopeful that there are many such projects in the pipeline, and if they all come to us, our growth will definitely be much higher than what we had anticipated.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Management identified Chart Industries as the only known competing manufacturer for the large cryogenic tanks supplied to the space customer.
“There is only one competitor that we know of from the US, and that is Chart Industries, as a manufacturer. There are very few companies in the world with the capability to manufacture large tanks.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Inox India is supplying multiple semiconductor projects and expects to address both high-purity cryogenic equipment and specialised pipeline execution.
“We are concentrating all our efforts on growing multifold in the semiconductor business. We are supplying equipment to Micron, Foxconn, the Tata Assam project, the Tata Dholera project, and many more customers now.
Cryogenic equipment and transfer lines for vacuum-jacketed lines are some of the capital equipment required, and the industrial gases supplied to these facilities need to be of very high purity, of the order of 5N or 6N categories. We are one of the pioneers in manufacturing such equipment. We have already supplied equipment to Singapore and Japan. Therefore, we have a very good quality setup for manufacturing such equipment.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
The company received more than ₹30 crore of equipment orders from Dholera and stated that it had not lost any semiconductor order opportunity so far.
“We entered the semiconductor business only in the last two or three quarters, and we are capturing 100% of the opportunities that are coming in. However, it is difficult for me to tell you the exact total value of the orders at this moment.
We recently received orders from the Dholera project worth around ₹30 crores or more for tanks, storage equipment, and transport equipment. We had earlier also received an order from Micron. We are not losing orders; that much I can tell you. Knowing our engineering capabilities, manufacturing excellence, and experience in manufacturing such equipment for more than a decade, we are quite well placed to execute these orders.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
The company has begun training specialised workers to address an acute manpower shortage at Indian semiconductor plants, with individual projects requiring hundreds of trained personnel.
“While discussing with these major semiconductor complexes, we found that there is a shortage of people in this area, and it is difficult to execute these projects without the support of such people. When we talk about the Micron project in Ahmedabad, for example, they require at least 200 to 300 skilled workers to manage this pipeline. At present, India does not have these skilled people.
We have started training people. Our first batch has now qualified, and we will be supplying trained people to most of the semiconductor projects in India. We see significant potential going forward for this semiconductor pipeline business in India.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
The widening cost advantage over diesel has improved LNG economics, with three PSUs collectively evaluating roughly 20–25 fuelling stations.
“Regarding LNG, what we have seen over the last few quarters, especially in India, is that growth was not very fast. However, now, given that LNG prices are slightly lower compared to the earlier figures, we are seeing some movement in the segment.
The delta between diesel and LNG is now quite substantial. Because of this, we have seen many fuelling and city-gas-distribution companies emphasising fuelling stations. We have already received requests for quotations from PSUs, with at least three PSUs contributing to almost 20–25 stations going forward. The automotive industry and the Government of India are also pushing this strongly. The marine sector is moving very fast, and the shipping industry is using LNG on a larger scale.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Management elaborated on the economics and potential applications of the Wayout partnership, positioning it as a decentralized drinking-water solution rather than just another manufacturing contract.
“The basic purpose of this micro-factory is to utilize any source of water and convert it into drinkable, potable water. It can be installed at the user’s point of need and produce almost 20,000 litres of water every day, catering to almost 1,000 people at a time. We have not worked out the approximate price yet, but it will be less than ₹10 lakh for the micro-factory and associated equipment such as kegs and dispensers.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Management sees an opportunity to leverage its existing keg manufacturing capabilities to address the packaged drinking water market while reducing plastic usage.
“The biggest advantage is that you can avoid using plastic bottles for water storage and instead use the stainless-steel kegs that we produce. This will reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts to a significant extent. This is the basic idea behind developing this product and getting it manufactured in India at competitive pricing.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Beyond the financial impact, management emphasized that repeat orders from leading global scientific institutions strengthen the company’s positioning in high-end cryogenic engineering.
“We secured a prestigious order from CERN for highly specialized cryogenic modules. We also received another important order from ITER France. These projects continue to demonstrate our capability to deliver highly specialized cryogenic systems for globally significant scientific infrastructure.”
— Deepak Acharya, CEO
Auto Ancillary
UNO Minda | Mid Cap | Auto Ancillary
Uno Minda specializes in producing and trading auto components like lighting, alloy wheels, horns, seating systems, seatbelts, switches, sensors, controllers, handle bar assemblies, and wheel covers. It serves markets in two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers both domestically and internationally, offering a wide range of automotive solutions.
[Concall]
Management shared its macro outlook, highlighting India’s structural advantages despite global uncertainties.
“India remains firmly among the world’s fastest-growing major economies, supported by resilient domestic consumption, a thriving services export sector, and sustained government capital expenditure. Looking further ahead, anticipated trade agreements with the US, UK, and EU are expected to significantly enhance trade flows, attract long-term private investment, and strengthen India’s structural growth prospects. For Indian manufacturers with the capabilities, scale, and technology credentials to compete globally, this is a moment of genuine and historic opportunity.”
— Sunil Bora, Group CFO
Management highlighted another record quarter driven by broad-based growth across product categories.
“We reported another strong quarter in which we continued to scale new heights, once again surpassing our previous peaks to achieve our highest-ever quarterly revenue. This growth was broad-based and high-quality, driven by value-added features and volume expansion across our core product offerings, including switches, lighting, alloy wheels, seating, and our rapidly scaling EV systems and alternate fuel divisions.”
— Sunil Bora, Group CFO
Management highlighted sustained market share gains in the switching business.
“Our switching system vertical delivered another strong quarter. Growth was driven across both our two-wheeler and four-wheeler switch businesses. In two-wheelers, sustained domestic volume growth was complemented by a consistent upward trajectory in exports, while our four-wheeler switch business continued to outperform the industry.”
— Management
Management discussed an important customer addition in the lighting segment.
“We received a business nomination from a global OEM for domestic four-wheeler lighting supply in India—a strategic entry into a new customer that opens the door to incremental customer share and cross-selling opportunities.”
— Management
Management highlighted emerging opportunities beyond conventional lighting.
“Interior ambient lighting is gaining commercial traction, with positive customer decisions that open an entirely new avenue of growth for our lighting portfolio.”
— Management
Management believes recent weakness in alloy wheel adoption is reversing.
“We had seen some temporary moderation in alloy wheel penetration over the last few quarters; however, we are seeing early signs of penetration inching up again.”
— Management
Management explained the long-term opportunity in die casting.
“The structural growth drivers for this business—light-weighting, EV platform requirements, and domestic content mandates—remain firmly intact. Near-term headwinds seem to be receding, and the business is expected to return for another upturn.”
— Management
Management described why entering passenger vehicle seating is strategically important.
“We announced our entry into the four-wheeler passenger vehicle seating system segment, one of the highest-value product categories in the automotive supply chain. It is a strategic leap that substantially increases our per-vehicle value potential and deepens our footprint in a segment central to the premium vehicle experience.”
— Management
Management highlighted the scale of the seating opportunity.
“Seating as a product has consistently been adding a lot of value. It is going up to almost ₹30,000–40,000 as a kit value per car. This will be one of the largest kit-value products in the group, or perhaps even larger than the alloy wheel segment in terms of kit value per car.”
— Management
Management outlined the drivers behind EV business growth.
“The growth in the two-wheeler EV business was contributed by multiple drivers, including new programs for DC-DC converters, electric motors and RCD cables, while EV chargers continued to grow through higher volumes, increased penetration with existing customers and higher share with newly added customers.”
— Management
Management emphasized its confidence in future growth.
“We are encouraged by the strong order pipeline across several emerging technology platforms, including EV powertrain systems, lighting, seating, sunroofs, infotainment and advanced electronics. These platforms provide excellent long-term visibility and reinforce our confidence in sustainable growth.”
— Management
Management explained why it remains confident despite cost inflation.
“Despite high commodity prices, we are maintaining our 11% margin guidance. We have been able to take a lot of actions in terms of automation, efficiencies and productivity, and absorb a large part of the wage increase as well.”
— Management
Management shared why it is excited about entering the passenger vehicle seating business.
“We are very positive about the seating business opportunity. We are very excited that we have finally been able to enter and break into four-wheeler seating, and this business can grow multi-fold as we move forward. However, we need to ensure that we provide not only better prices but also better features at better prices.”
— Management
The company believes regulatory and consumer trends continue to favour suppliers with advanced technologies.
“Higher feature content, premiumization and increasing electronic content in vehicles continue to improve our content per vehicle across multiple product categories.”
— Management
The company expects penetration trends to improve after a period of moderation.
“The softness in alloy wheel penetration appears to be behind us. We are beginning to see penetration levels improve again.”
— Management
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Quotes in this newsletter were curated by Meher & Srusti.
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