India's Dabur flags further price increases as Middle East war drives up costs

India’s Dabur signaled a second round of price hikes after implementing a 4% increase across parts of its portfolio, as war in the Middle East drives up manufacturing and transportation costs.

A surge in energy prices caused by the war is rippling through global supply chains for common consumer goods, making materials like chemicals and plastics more expensive.

“We want to increase the margins from last year to the current year and mitigate all the inflation through price increases,” Dabur said in a call with analysts after reporting results on Thursday.

Peers including Dove soap maker Hindustan Unilever and cooking oil manufacturer AWL Agri Business are also the tightening costs and raising prices to account for rising raw material costs.

Dabur is also shrinking the size of products priced at 10-20 rupees — a key price band for budget-conscious consumers — to manage inflation, after increasing pack sizes when India cut consumption taxes last year.

India’s Dabur forecasts fourth-quarter revenue growth in mid-single-digit percentage

Along with the raw material inflation due to the regional conflict, the honey-to-toothpaste maker also faces sales pressure as the Middle East contributes 30%-35% of its international business.

Middle East and North Africa revenue climbed 1%, while most other regions posted double-digit growth. Dabur attributed the disparity partly to an exodus of expatriates from the Gulf, which in recent years has become a focus area for Indian consumer goods makers.

Separately, Dabur beat quarterly profit estimates, helped by steady demand after consumption tax cuts in India.

Consolidated profit jumped 15% to 3.69 billion rupees ($39.15 million), while revenue rose 7% to 30.38 billion rupees.