FMCG major Emami on Tuesday admitted that business has been impacted due to the political unrest in Bangladesh but expressed hope that it would return to normalcy once a stable government is established.

Responding to multiple queries from shareholders at the 41st annual general meeting of the company, an Emami official assured that the situation in Bangladesh would not have a ‘very big impact’ on the overall business of Emami.

“Currently the business is getting impacted, in fact the last month has been very turbulent. But it has stabilised; our factory has started operations, the market has opened. We are hopeful of getting this stabilised,” Naresh Bhansali, CFO of Emami, said.

Emami has a manufacturing base in Bangladesh, which was set up in 2012. The plant is located in Gazipur. The Bangla business accounts for 4 per cent of Emami’s consolidated revenues and profit, according to brokerage firm Nuvama.

“We do not see a very big impact on the overall business from the Bangladesh business and we are hopeful that things will stabilise over a period,” Bhansali told shareholders.

One of the shareholders drew attention to the recent turmoil in Sri Lanka and asked what has been the experience of Emami. Bhansali replied that the business in the island nation has returned to its growth path.

“In fact, the business (in Sri Lanka) had gone down at that point for the currency. But it has resumed, and come back with a good growth path. We are hopeful that Bangladesh would also come back on the same growth trajectory path over a period,” he explained.

In FY24, Emami’s international business grew 12 per cent in constant currency and 9 per cent in rupee terms. In FY24, sales of 7-Oils-in-One crossed ₹100 crore in international markets, while Crème 21 also achieved its highest-ever sales, R.S. Goenka, chairman of Emami, said.

Despite turmoil in Bangladesh, Emami is eyeing a double digit growth in overseas business as well as in the domestic markets.

Acquisition plans

Emami, which has grown over the years by making audacious takeovers, said it continues to look for ‘strategic opportunities’ — be it full-fledged acquisitions like Kesh King or Zandu or strategic investment in start-up D2C entities such as The Man Company or Brillare.