Despite lockdown hit in Q1FY22, Wipro Consumer's India FMCG business grew by 17.3 percent. CNBC-TV18's Shilpa Ranipeta caught up with Vineet Agrawal, CEO of Wipro Consumer Care. He decoded the earnings numbers and shared business outlook.

“Even during Q1FY22, rural demand was doing better than urban demand. So it was not that it went down below urban,” he said.

“Last year, rural demand was much higher than urban demand. Rural demand continues to be higher than urban demand but not as high as one would want or expect,” he added.

The company has taken a few price hikes. “One in March and one more at the end of May. The total increase is about 7-8 percent,” he shared.

If the palm oil prices ease-out, there won’t be any price increases in soaps but if it continues to rise, perhaps the company will have to take a price increase in this quarter itself, he stated.

When asked if the company is prepared for any further disruptions during the possible third-wave of COVID-19, Agrawal mentioned, “The only thing we need to learn is that you have to be nimble-footed and you also get the opportunity in these adversities. Last year Q1, ours is probably the only company which grew positively, 10 percent because of the fact that our supply chain did well.”

“We will look at opportunities of acquisitions in all countries, which are largely developing countries because growth is going to be critical,” he said.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Jul 27, 2021 6:43 PM IST