Emami Ltd (EMAMILTD) Q2 FY27 Earnings Call: Guides 18-20% H2 Growth, BoroPlus Enters Baby Care

Emami Ltd held its Q2 FY27 earnings call on November 05, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Broad-Based Growth, But PAT Slips on Tax Normalisation

• Revenue of Rs.1,088 Cr, +36% YoY — consolidated Q2 FY 2026-2027 growth; on a like-to-like basis (excluding prior-period revenue of Axiom and Inknut Digital), consolidated sales grew 24%.
• Domestic sales +49% YoY — driven by 43% volume growth; like-to-like domestic growth was 32% with 26% volume growth in Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• EBITDA Rs.222 Cr (+25%), PBT Rs.194 Cr (+29%) — but PAT of Rs.144 Cr declined 3% YoY, largely due to normalisation of the effective tax rate following phase-out of fiscal benefits.
• Gross margin moderated 520 bps YoY — due to elevated input cost inflation and changing business mix from integration of the acquired business.
• H1 FY 2026-2027 actuals — revenue Rs.2,127 Cr (+25%), EBITDA Rs.449 Cr (+15%), PBT Rs.388 Cr (+15%).
• Capital returns — completed a Rs.281 Cr share buyback of 73 lakh shares in October 2026; board approved a first interim dividend of Rs.5 per share for FY 2026-2027, a Rs.214 Cr payout.

Skincare and Hair Care Lead; Strategic Investments Fire

• Skincare +31% in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — talc portfolio grew over 2x, BoroPlus in near 20s, Smart & Handsome in double digits.
• Hair & scalp care +30% — Navratna Oil in 30s, Kesh King in high teens, 7 Oils in 1 nearly doubled.
• Healthcare +11% — pain management in teens, OTC in high teens, Medico in single digits.
• Strategic investment portfolio +73% like-to-like — now ~26% of domestic business; Axiom and Brillare more than doubled sales, Inknut grew over 50%, The Man Company grew over 30% in Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• Organized channels at 37% of domestic business — quick commerce accounts for ~15% of digital sales in Q2 FY 2026-2027.

BoroPlus Baby Care Entry; Sustaining 70% Growth Unlikely

• BoroPlus baby care launch — priced 25-50% cheaper than existing market products, deliberately targeting the mass segment of a baby care market sized Rs.30,000-40,000 crore; initial rollout focused on e-commerce and modern trade with Ayurvedic positioning (Mohan Goenka).
• Kesh King Scalp First — premium extension priced at Rs.500-1,000; management is relying on R&D-led differentiation ("detoxifying scalp" claims, unique ingredients) rather than packaging or brand extension alone.
• Strategic investment growth decelerating sequentially — Q2 FY 2026-2027 growth was up 12% versus Q1 FY 2026-2027 and up 5% versus the H1 FY 2026-2027 number, per Dhruv Agarwal; Q1 FY 2026-2027 growth was 61%.
• EMC turnaround — previously stagnant, now at high-20% margins and up 30%+ in Q2 FY 2026-2027; Dhruv Agarwal attributed growth across all four brands to reformulations, customer feedback, and marketing.
• Sustainability caveat — Dhruv Agarwal said sustaining 70% growth is "probably not" likely but expects strong growth across all four brands (period unspecified); brands remain priced at the lower end versus peers such as L'Oreal, Derma Co, and Pilgrim.

Turnaround Underway, But Geopolitical Disruptions Persist

• International revenue declined 2% in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — impacted by severe floods in Nepal and Gulf supply chain challenges from ongoing regional conflicts; excluding Nepal and Iraq, international business grew 6%.
• "Worst is behind us in international" — Vivek Dhir said the decline narrowed in Q2 FY 2026-2027, with business turned around in Bangladesh and GCC; growth observed in most geographies over the last 2-3 months.
• October 2026 (Q3 FY 2026-2027) international posted high double-digit growth — per Vivek Dhir, cited by Mohan Goenka as evidence the international business is back on a growth path.
• Iraq saw almost zero sales in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — goods could not be moved; alternate routes via Port Gaba have now been found and movement resumed. The Black Sea route to Russia was also disturbed — issues Vivek Dhir noted Dabur, Godrej and Marico do not face.
• OTC hazardous goods shipments from India remain blocked — an unresolved issue affecting ~2% of international business as of Q2 FY 2026-2027, continuing to put pressure on growth.
• Manufacturing footprint constraint — Emami's manufacturing is limited to India, Bangladesh, UAE and Germany (plus Thailand), so goods must move into its market geographies; overlap with Dabur (~11 manufacturing locations outside India) is limited to GCC and Bangladesh, per Vivek Dhir.

Inflation Passed Through; Elevated Gross Margin Impact into H2

• Q2 FY 2026-2027 gross margin impact totaled 550 bps — of which 400 bps was purely raw material cost inflation and ~150 bps from mix shift toward newer categories.
• H2 FY 2026-2027 gross margin impact expected to remain elevated — inputs were already procured at current prices; management expects to benefit from input cost corrections in FY 2027-2028.
• ~5.5% price increases taken in FY 2026-2027 — management confirmed the entire cost increase has been passed on to consumers, with consequent scheme reductions in Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• A&P guided at 18-19% (max) of sales for full FY 2026-2027 — management staying in a deliberate spending mode to back top-line growth rather than optimizing for 0.5-1% savings; this responded to Harit Kapoor's (Investec) query on whether the ~20% A&P-to-sales ratio should be assumed structurally higher over FY 2027-2028 / FY 2028-2029.
• Rural demand mixed in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — rural weak in south and west markets that saw significantly low rainfall and drought-like conditions, and in some UP pockets; districts with good rainfall performed well.

H2 Growth Guidance of 18-20%; AI Platform Live by Q4

• H2 FY 2026-2027 total business growth guided at 18-20% — Mohan Goenka ("everything put together"), with momentum continuing despite festive timing shifts and GST upstock/destock effects; Q2 FY 2026-2027 carried a low base from GST-related disruptions in the year-ago period.
• Strategic investment spend committed at Rs.800+ Cr for FY 2026-2027 — Dhruv Agarwal ("for sure"), against prior guidance of Rs.750-800 Cr set at end of Q1 FY 2026-2027; Mohan Goenka added it should be kept at ~Rs.850 Cr, noting an annualized run-rate of almost Rs.1,000-1,100 Cr (FY 2026-2027 annualized). Q2 FY 2026-2027 spend ran at ~Rs.240 Cr.
• AI/data analytics platform ahead of schedule — Manish Gupta (President - Sales) is leading digitization of end-to-end processes (forecasting to fulfillment, supply chain, invoicing, distributor-led frontline booking); pilot phases in some markets are already delivering "very impressive results".
• AI rollout completion expected in Q4 FY 2026-2027 — with real gains expected from April 2027 onwards (FY 2027-2028).
• Demand pickup expected post-Diwali — management said demand should pick up as the peak winter season begins in Q3 FY 2026-2027; commodity inflation and geopolitical developments flagged as key risks to watch for the remainder of FY 2026-2027.