COLPAL

continues to face slowdown

's Q1FY26 Performance: Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd.'s shares fell sharply after weak Q1FY26 results, missing analyst expectations. → Total operating revenue growth was a modest 3%, and net profit plunged 4%. This indicates a concerning start to the fiscal year for Colgate, with both revenue and profit underperforming. → The oral care category, particularly toothpaste, experienced a 3-4% year-on-year volume decline in Q1FY26, contributing to Colgate's overall sluggish performance. → This highlights a key challenge within Colgate's core business, suggesting a decline in demand for its primary product. → Despite overall weakness, Colgate's premium products showed strong revenue growth in Q1FY26. This suggests a potential silver lining, as the company's higher-end offerings are still resonating with consumers and could be a growth driver. → Ebitda dropped 11% year-on-year in Q1FY26 due to higher expenses, and the Ebitda margin contracted by 3.6%. While Q2 is expected to show some improvement, the full recovery is anticipated in the second half of FY26. → This points to rising operational costs impacting profitability, with a projected gradual recovery later in the fiscal year. → Brokerages have a "reduce" rating on the stock, citing an expensive valuation (43 times estimated FY26 earnings) and forecasting only a 7.7% earnings per share (EPS) CAGR over FY26-28, which is at the lower end of the range.