1. At a Glance – The Silent Overachiever
If Indian FMCG were a college classroom, P&G Hygiene would be the topper who never raises their hand but still gets 99/100. Market cap of ₹38,163 Cr, stock price ₹11,766, ROCE at a casual 104%, ROE doing gymnastics at 75.7%, and zero debt because why borrow when cash rains every quarter?
Q3 FY26 came in with ₹1,262 Cr revenue (+1% YoY) and ₹301 Cr PAT (+12% YoY). Margins? A juicy 32% OPM, higher than most FMCG CEOs’ blood pressure during analyst calls.
The stock, however, is sulking—-18% 1Y return, reminding everyone that valuation tantrums don’t care about fundamentals. P/E at 44x, P/B at an eye-watering 41x. Basically, Mr. Market says: “Great business, but beta nahi hai.”
2. Introduction – This Is Not a Sexy Stock, And That’s the Point
P&G Hygiene doesn’t chase trends. It sells pads, balms, cough drops, and deodorants. Products people buy when sick, stressed, bleeding, or sweating—aka life itself.
Incorporated in 1964 (then Richardson Hindustan), acquired by P&G in 1985, this company has survived liberalisation, demonetisation, GST, pandemics, and WhatsApp forwards.
Sales growth is pedestrian (3–5% long term), but profits keep compounding because pricing power + brand monopoly = financial black magic. Whisper and Vicks together control ~50%+ market share in their categories. Competition exists, but mostly as background noise.
Question: Would you rather own a flashy disruptor or the company that literally
owns human habits?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Simple. They sell trust in sachets and boxes.
- Hygiene (≈70%): Whisper Ultra, Bindazzz Nights, Period Panties. Once a girl starts using Whisper, switching feels like cheating.
- Health Care (≈30%): Vicks VapoRub, Action 500, Inhaler, ZzzQuil. Every Indian household has at least one expired Vicks bottle.
- Old Spice: Masculinity in aerosol form.
Manufacturing is asset-light, distribution is pan-India, and advertising is aggressive (₹568 Cr in FY24, 13.5% of sales). P&G even uses AI/ML for store-level demand planning. Kirana uncle doesn’t know it, but algorithms decide his shelf.
4. Financials Overview (Quarterly Results)
| Metric | Latest Qtr | YoY Qtr | Prev Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (₹ Cr) | 1,262 | 1,248 | 1,150 | 1.1% | 9.7% |
| EBITDA (₹ Cr) | 402 | 371 | 285 | 8.4% | 41.0% |
| PAT (₹ Cr) | 301 | 269 | 210 | 12.2% | 43.3% |
| EPS (₹) | 92.9 | 82.7 | 64.7 | 12.3% | 43.6% |
Annualised EPS (Q3 rule): Average of Q1–Q3 FY26 EPS × 4 ≈ aligns with TTM EPS ₹265.
Commentary: Revenue walks. Profit sprints. That’s FMCG operating leverage with brand steroids.
5. Valuation Discussion – Calm Down, This Isn’t Cheap
- P/E Method: EPS ₹265
