Bajaj Consumer Care Q2 FY26 Concall Decoded: Hair Oils, High Margins, and Half-Smiles

1. Opening Hook

Just when investors thought the hair oil business was all rinse-and-repeat, Bajaj Consumer Care brushed up its act. Q2FY26 came with fewer bad hair days — margins shined, GST caused a minor frizz, and ADHO finally looked less tired than your post-Zoom hairline. MD Naveen Pandey played the confident stylist, promising sleek growth and minimal split ends (read: steady margins). But international business looked like a bald patch they’d rather not show. Keep reading — this one’s glossy on top but has some tangles beneath.

2. At a Glance

• Revenue ₹261 Cr (↑13.3%) – Finally, some bounce in the bottle.
• Gross Margin 59.3% (↑680 bps YoY) – Price hikes and productivity doing salon-level magic.
• EBITDA ₹49.6 Cr (↑42%) – The margin got a blow-dry, from 15% to 20.5%.
• PAT ₹43 Cr (↑~40%) – Profits looking well-oiled, pun intended.
• Urban Trade +10%, Rural Flat – Villages skipped hair oil, stuck with dust.
• International -26% – Distributor issues, not demand shampoo.
• GST 2.0 Impact: -3% of quarterly sales – Temporary haircut, long-term shine.

3. Management’s Key Commentary

“Gross margin improved by 680 basis points to 59.3%.”
(Translation: When in doubt, raise prices and pray consumers don’t notice. 😏)

“ADHO delivered double-digit revenue growth; volume was flat.”
(Translation: Customers didn’t buy more, they just paid more.)

“Kochi’s revival equivalent—oh wait, wrong script—ours was Project Aarohan adding 38,000 outlets.”
(Because nothing says ‘growth’ like new kirana shelves.)

“Rural is still a work in progress.”
(Corporate code for: ‘We have no idea what’s going on there.’)

“International business declined 26% due to distributor transitions.”
(Translation: We changed distributors. The distributors changed loyalties.)

“Copra prices doubled; RMO inflated 40%.”
(Hair oil margins fighting inflation with scalp care slogans.)

“We launched Bajaj Gold Enriched Coconut Hair Oil in record time.”
(Even startups envy that speed—now let’s see if anyone buys it.)

“Nearly 100% of our portfolio is now at 5% GST.”
(Lower tax, higher optimism—someone tell the market, please.)

4. Numbers Decoded