A heavy results day in Indian consumer. Five numbers worth your five minutes.
1. AWL Agri Business grew 26% and earned less
The company behind Fortune reported Rs 22,202 crore of revenue for the September quarter, up 26%, with volumes up 14%. Profit after tax was Rs 239 crore, down from Rs 245 crore a year earlier and from Rs 351 crore in the June quarter, which the company puts down to minimum corporate tax on its Bangladesh subsidiary. The Food and FMCG arm grew 32% to Rs 2,216 crore but earned just Rs 71 crore of EBITDA, a margin near 3%, while edible oil returns 14% on capital. The fastest-growing part of this business is still the least profitable part, and oil is paying for it. (AWL Q2 FY27 investor presentation)
2. Tata Consumer’s profit grew faster than its revenue
Tata Consumer Products reported Rs 5,661 crore of revenue for the September quarter, up 14%, and net profit of Rs 470 crore, up 15.65%. Management credited domestic volume growth, price increases taken earlier in the year and tighter input cost management. For a company that spent two years absorbing tea and coffee costs, profit outrunning revenue suggests those price increases have held without volumes breaking. One quarter is not a trend, but it is the first clean one in a while. (Tata Consumer Q2 FY27 filing)
3. Radico Khaitan’s profit rose 66% on 7% more volume
Radico Khaitan reported net profit of Rs 232 crore for the September quarter, up 66%, on revenue of Rs 5,583 crore, up 10%. EBITDA rose 50.6% to Rs 357 crore. IMFL volumes grew 7.2% to 10.02 million cases, and the company raised its volume growth guidance for the Prestige and Above segment to 30%. Profit rising roughly nine times faster than volume is what premiumisation looks like in spirits: the same bottles sold at a higher price point carry far more of the margin. The base quarter was weak, which flatters the number. (Radico Khaitan Q2 FY27 results)
4. MakeMyTrip is buying its booking growth
MakeMyTrip returned to profit with net income of $1.8 million against a $5.7 million loss a year earlier. Gross bookings were $2.72 billion, up 11.3%, while reported revenue was $235.2 million, up only 2.5%. Two things explain the gap: the rupee fell about 10% against the dollar, so constant-currency revenue growth was 11.2%, and customer inducement costs, which are netted off revenue, rose to $108.9 million from $89.1 million. Hotels and packages revenue actually fell 1%. The discount bill, up 22%, is what is buying the bookings. (MakeMyTrip Q2 FY27 results)
5. India’s consumer sector closed 127 deals last quarter
Grant Thornton Bharat counted 127 deals worth $1.92 billion in India’s consumer and retail sector in the September quarter, with volumes up 19% and value up 3% on the previous quarter. Textiles, apparel and jewellery took 59% of all M&A value. E-commerce was the most active segment by deal count for the first time since late 2024, with 17 private equity deals. Personal care and FMCG deals together rose to 20 from 12, and personal care deal value grew roughly six times off a small base. (Grant Thornton Bharat Consumer & Retail Dealtracker, Q3 2026)
Read the full edition, with the Radico caveat, the AWL channel numbers and three quick briefs: https://theinsightlabs.in/daily/2026-10-28
If one of these numbers changes how you are reading your own category, hit reply and tell me which. I read everything.
— Satyam · The Insight Labs