Buoyed by festive fervor and the oncoming winter season, Marico on Wednesday stated that the company witnessed improvement in demand during the quarter that ended on December 31.

The company witnessed growth in premium and urban categories. The rural demand continued to be impacted as retail inflation stayed at elevated levels.

Marico’s India business witnessed an increase over the preceding quarter and posted a mid-single-digit volume growth the company informed in an exchange filing. Parachute Coconut oil posted low single-digit volume growth while the Saffola franchise grew in double digits.

International business

The international business grew with single-digit constant currency growth with implications of currency depreciation and high inflation.

As we witnessed some semblance of stability in key input prices and consumer pricing across key franchises, gross and operating margins are expected to improve both on a sequential and year-on year basis. In view of the lower revenue growth, we expect a modest growth in operating profit, the company stated.