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Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd made a striking recovery in FY26. Consolidated revenue increased 21% year-on-year to ₹1,165 crore, and Ebitda margin rose 575 basis points (bps) to 19%.
Its growth portfolio, comprising products other than its flagship Almond Drops Hair Oil (ADHO), recorded annual sales of ₹225 crore, which the company aims to more than double to ₹500 crore over the next three years.
The core Bajaj ADHO brand recorded revenue growth of more than 20% for the full year. The brand’s volume growth in the March quarter (Q4FY26) was nearly in the double digits after accounting for quantity reductions, and in the mid-single-digits on an absolute basis.
Increased brand investments and distribution efforts under Project Aarohan aided ADHO growth. Around two-thirds of the business is now under Project Aarohan, and the remaining third is expected to be covered in FY27. Project Aarohan is the company’s strategic initiative to expand its distribution reach.
For now, investors are elated that Q4FY26 results sharply beat analysts’ expectations on growth and earnings. The stock has gained about 10% since the results were announced on Friday, showing revenues grew by more than 30% year-on-year for the second straight quarter.
Price hikes lifted growth, with Q4 operating revenue growing 30.4% to ₹327 crore, and Ebitda margin jumping 1,067 bps to 23.4%, a multi-quarter high. A favourable base helped a little as Ebitda margin had contracted 172 bps year-on-year in Q4FY25.
Looking ahead, Bajaj sees margins in the low-to-mid-20s. But the West Asia war is causing costs to rise, posing a threat to margins. The price of light liquid paraffin (LLP), a key input, rose sharply in Q4FY26 from Q3FY26. Also, prices of refined mustard oil haven’t cooled as expected.
“Mix-led moderation in margins remains a key monitorable, with recent raw material volatility making Q1FY27 an important test for margin sustainability,” said an ICICI Securities report. Bajaj is likely to hike prices to fight high costs.
Noting the solid improvement in the company’s financials, analysts have raised their earnings estimates for FY27 and FY28. The stock has delivered an impressive 85% return so far in 2026, making some analysts wary. For instance, Elara Securities (India) has downgraded Bajaj Consumer from ‘buy’ to ‘accumulate’ because of the recent run-up. The stock now trades at nearly 29 times estimated FY27 earnings, based on a Bloomberg consensus.
Pallavi Pengonda is a Senior Editor at Mint, where she leads the Mark to Market team. With over a decade of experience at the publication, she is the authority on breaking down complex financial reports and tracing how big economic shifts actually ripple through the business world. From deep-dives into the oil and gas sector to the latest trends in retail and tech, she covers giants like Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever with a sharp, analytical eye. Her path to journalism was a bit of a pivot. After earning her Master’s degree in Finance from Mumbai’s Welingkar Institute, an internship at the DNA newspaper changed everything. An editor there gave her some classic advice: "You’ll learn a ton, even if the pay doesn’t match." She took the leap, spent three years at DNA, and never looked back. When she isn’t decoding the stock market to help readers make smarter investment moves, Pallavi keeps things low-key. You’ll likely find her recharging over the weekend with a good book, heading out for a long walk, or spending time at her easel painting.