Copyright Reuters
Sign up here. "Food remains a high focus for us because ... food has a better margin profile as compared to edible oil," Shrikant Kanhere, newly appointed managing director and CEO of the company, formerly called Adani Wilmar, said in an interview late on Monday. Kanhere, who took over as managing director and CEO from Angshu Mallick on Tuesday, said foods currently make up about a fifth of AWL Agri Business' total volume and are expected to rise to 30% within five years. The Fortune brand owner expects revenue to grow 10% in the second half of the fiscal year, driven by wider product availability. The company, which directly reaches 900,000 retail outlets, aims to expand that to 1 million by next year. Still, the projection marks a sharp slowdown from about 35% growth a year earlier, when surging edible oil prices boosted sales. In the September quarter, high prices again hurt volumes as consumers shifted to cheaper alternatives. Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee
