Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited: First Take Q1FY27 – Volume-led revenue beat; in-line EBITDA/PAT

Research evidence excerpt

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited: First Take Q1FY27 – Volume-led revenue beat; in-line EBITDA/PAT

Latika Chopra, CFA AC Asia Pacific Equity Research

(91-22) 6157-3584 29 July 2026 J P M O R G A N

latika.chopra@jpmorgan.com

Investment Thesis, Valuation and Risks

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited (Neutral; Price Target: Rs2,250.00)

Investment Thesis

Colgate India’s operational performance has been underwhelming in recent quarters, with

volume/revenue delivery underperforming peers. We anticipate sequential improvement

for CLGT led by the anniversarization of trade investments, benign base of volume growth,

GST-driven grammage increases along with ongoing innovation-led premiumization,

resilient rural markets and improving urban markets. However, margins will likely remain

under pressure due to the inverted duty structure and increased brand investments. There is

also margin risk from higher crude derivative prices (~25% COGS salience) along with

availability of key raw materials, which remains a key monitorable. In our view, CLGT

offers favourable risk-reward due to resilient demand, relatively lower earnings sensitivity

to revenue/margin headwinds. We rate the stock Neutral.

Valuation

Our PT of Rs2,250 is based on 38x P/E (vs. 35x earlier), a 10% discount to the historical

average, to reflect demand uncertainty amidst macro-economic volatility.

Risks to Rating and Price Target

Key downside risks to our rating and price target include: (1) a significant deceleration in

demand, weighing on volume growth; (2) higher-than-expected input cost inflation,

impacting the margin trajectory; and (3) a significant increase in competitive intensity,

leading to market share declines.

Key upside risks to our rating and price target include: (1) improvement in demand and