Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL) has implemented price increases across select products in its Good Knight, HIT and Cinthol portfolios during September-October, extending a series of price adjustments implemented earlier this year. According to reports from Essential Business Intelligence, the latest revisions range from 4.5% to 5.9%, with cumulative increases reaching 15.8% for some products this year. The changes cover household insecticides and soaps, two key product categories for the company in India.
The most significant increase was implemented on Black HIT 125 ml, which rose from ₹85 to ₹90, representing a 5.9% increase. Good Knight Liquid 45 ml now costs ₹95, up from ₹90, marking an increase of 5.6%. This represents the product's second price hike this year, taking its price from ₹85 at the start of the year to ₹95, an overall increase of 11.8%. Good Knight Machine was increased from ₹110 to ₹115, an increase of 4.5%, with the latest revision taking the cumulative increase this year to 15%.
The price increases come amid elevated costs of palm oil derivatives, chemicals and packaging materials, which continue to put pressure on margins across consumer goods categories. As reported by Essential Business Intelligence, in its fourth-quarter commentary, GCPL flagged a 6-9% cost impact from rising crude oil and palm oil prices. The company stated it planned to offset the pressure through selective price increases, cost savings and optimization of media spending. Additionally, the appliance industry faces similar challenges with copper prices surging from $8,000-$9,000 to $14,500 per tonne, representing a 25-35% increase in metal prices. According to CRISIL, crude oil is expected to be 32% higher year on year, while the rupee has weakened from ₹93.6 against the dollar in April to ₹95.32 in September due to firm U.S. Treasury yields.
India accounts for 63.3% of GCPL's total revenue, while its household insecticides business contributes around 22% of overall revenue. According to Essential Business Intelligence, Good Knight accounts for approximately 90% of revenue from the household insecticides business in India, while HIT contributes the remaining 10%. The company has a 60% market share in the household insecticides segment, which reports an EBITDA margin of 24%. In the soaps segment, soaps contribute around 18% of total revenue, with Cinthol accounting for 37% of soap revenue and approximately 6.7% of GCPL's overall revenue.
