Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Zydus Wellness Q3 FY 2026 earnings conference call, hosted by ICICI Securities Limited. As a reminder, all participants' line will be in listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ashutosh Joytiraditya from ICICI Securities Limited. Thank you, and over to you.
Thank you, Iqra. Hello, and good afternoon, everyone present on the call. I, on behalf of ICICI Securities, welcome you on Zydus Wellness Limited's Q3 FY 2026 earnings call. I would like to thank the management to give this opportunity of hosting the call. From the management, we have with us Mr. Tarun Arora, CEO, and full-time director, and Mr. Umesh Parikh, CFO. I now hand the call over to the management for opening remarks, post which we will open the floor for Q&A session. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Hello, good evening. Hello, good evening, and welcome to the post-results teleconference of Zydus Wellness Limited for quarter three , financial year 2025-2026. Like Ashutosh mentioned, I have with me Mr. Umesh Parikh, who is the CFO on the call from our side. During the quarter, consumption trends remained steady, led by sustained recovery in rural demand, which continued to outpace the gradual improvement in urban markets. Commodity input costs exhibited divergent pricing trends across categories. Structural growth drivers remained intact, with quick commerce and e-commerce continuing to scale the strong momentum. During the quarter, we continued to strengthen our portfolio and platform for sustained growth through targeted innovations and geographic expansion. Nutralite Professional expanded its offering with the launch of Cheesy Delight and Slim Mayonnaise variants, enhancing portfolio, addressing evolving taste preferences, and enabling incremental growth across all food service channels.
On the Comfort Click business, it deepened its portfolio with the launch of four adult gummies variants, one probiotic gummies variant for kids, and pure Himalayan Shilajit Resin, reinforcing its position in high-growth wellness categories. Additionally, the WeightWorld brand advanced its European expansion by entering Poland, Finland, and Portugal, strengthening Comfort Click's regional footprint and unlocking access to fast-growing wellness markets in Europe. RiteBite Max Protein expanded into two additional international markets, taking its presence to nine countries within the first year. The recently launched Wafer Bar continues to contribute to category growth and market expansion within India. Zydus Wellness initiated marketing and distribution for the Cuticolor brand in the organized channel. The brand is number one doctor-prescribed in the hair coloring space and is strengthening the company's focus on functional skin and hair care.
Coming to the company's financial performance, net sales for quarter three financial year 2026 registered growth of 113.7%. Within this, food and nutrition segment delivered growth of 134%, while personal care segment declined by 1.4% during the quarter. Volumes for quarter three financial year 2026, excluding the newly acquired Comfort Click business, delivered double-digit growth, reflecting underlying demand momentum. On a year-to-date basis, financial year 2026, excluding Comfort Click and seasonal brands, recorded strong growth of double-digit in the high teens range, supported by mid-teen volume growth. On a like-to-like basis, RiteBite business doubled its legacy performance and exceeded internal projections. The Comfort Click continues to perform in line with the expectations. Most brands recorded gross margin expansion, underscoring the strength of our portfolio, with the improvement further supported by the newly acquired brands.
On the raw material front, except for milk, other key inputs remained largely under control ahead of the upcoming season. Other operating income declined year-on-year due to GST budgetary support of INR 90 million, recognized in Q3 financial year 2025 in the prior year. On a consolidated basis, the company recorded EBITDA of INR 610 million, representing a quarter year-on-year growth of 312.2%. EBITDA margin expanded to 6.3%, up from 3.2% in the previous year. Key drivers impacting the movement of EBITDA to PBT for Q3 and YTD FY 2026 include: The acquisition was funded through a low-cost bridge loan at 5%, with the related interest expense reflected under finance costs amounting to approximately INR 371 million for the quarter three.
Amortization of acquired brands resulted in higher depreciation and amortization charges, about INR 472 million for quarter three. Exceptional items primarily represent one-time impacts arising from the implementation of new labor code, acquisition related costs, and expense associated with liquidation of Naturell (India) Private Limited, a subsidiary of the company, on a going concern basis. Importantly, Comfort Click acquisition remains cash EPS accretive even after accounting for interest and tax. The net loss, including exceptional items and non-cash amortization, is INR 399 million. The adjusted net loss, excluding exceptional item, is INR 333 million. During the quarter, company further strengthened its organizational capabilities and culture. The company was certified as a great place to work for the fourth consecutive year, reflecting its continued commitment to talent development, employee engagement, and a workplace excellence.
Brand performance and market share developments are detailed in the investor presentation. Notably, Complan maintained its fourth ranked market share position. Going forward, building on the strong brand, brand equity, we plan to reframe Complan's participation in the nutrition space with a set of relaunches and new product introductions to be more relevant for contemporary need states. We are also expanding its celebrity-led outreach by partnering with emerging 14-year-old cricket sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, to connect with younger audiences. Everyuth continue to lead in the niche sub-segments, delivering double-digit growth in YTD FY 2026. The tangible segment sustained strong growth, further enhancing brand saliency. Within the sweetener portfolio, market share expanded by 80 basis points as per MAT December 2025 report of Nielsen and IQVIA, while Sugar Free Green delivered 19th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
Sugar Free D'lite cookies have now been extended into multiple markets, and the entire D'lite range continues to witness strong growth. Nutralite continued to broaden the portfolio through focused innovation, supported by strong execution from dedicated B2B and B2C teams. The brand delivered double-digit growth with a six-year CAGR, driven by consistent performance across the portfolio. One year post-acquisition, the RiteBite Max Protein business continues to significantly outperform its internal expectations across both value and volume metrics. The brand retains its leadership position in protein snacking, with EBITDA improving from base even at acquisition to levels approaching double-digit margins, supported by innovation, integration synergies, scale benefits, and enhanced operational efficiencies. We are focusing on delivering innovative products, advancing strategic initiatives, and leveraging AI-powered creatives and data-driven decision making to enhance product experience, expand our consumer base, and drive sustainable long-term growth.
In addition, upcoming new product developments, geographic market expansion, and seasonal opportunities are anticipated to provide incremental growth momentum through calendar year 2026. Thank you, and now we'll begin the Q&A session. Over to the coordinator.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Tejas Shah from Avendus Spark Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Am I audible? Hello.
Yes. Yes. Clearly audible.
Yeah, sure. Thanks. So quarter three, GM jumped to 63%. So just wanted to know, is this new normal or a seasonal peak? Because specifically on Comfort Click, are there any seasonality margins at gross level and, and should we take this GM as a baseline margin ahead for the combined portfolio?
Yeah. So Tejas, the gross margin jumped because of, you know, combination of the business, mainly the Comfort Click business coming in for the whole quarter, and therefore it has, you know, jumped to where it is, where you can see it right now.
So they operate at a higher gross margin levels-
Yeah.
and therefore, the mix has been... But that's why we explained individually, each of the product has improved gross margins. But typically, because of the mix, you would have seen that our quarter four, quarter one operated at higher margins. This quarter, the whole mix has got lifted further because Comfort Click operates at a much higher level.
Yeah.
So-
It's basically a business mix this time.
Yeah.
Yeah. So, so definitely, Comfort Click is margin accretive. So just wanted to understand, henceforth, how should we kind of think about or forecast this particular line item? Because without not very conducive seasonality for our core portfolio, the margins have actually expanded handsomely. So just wanted to know, what is the baseline number on annual basis, not seasonality keeping aside, how should we think about this number going ahead?
So keeping aside the seasonality on an annualized basis, you can assume it about 60%-67% on a consolidated basis, on an annualized basis.
Okay, okay, very helpful. And second, the flow-through of the same seems to be slightly low, though we have done reasonably well on a YoY basis on EBITDA margin. But other expenses and A&P also seems to be higher. See, what essentially I'm trying to understand is how to think about Comfort Click's whole cost architecture in terms of, is there any seasonality which plays out in Q3, or this is new normal, and then this is how it should play out going ahead, irrespective of the season, for at least Comfort Click portfolio?
This is the new normal, because, I mean, the increase in ad expenses is largely because Comfort Click operates at a certain expenses which are variable in nature, due to high marketing spends, which are linked to digital marketing that they do, and that's in sync with their business scale. So this would be a new normal, and this is a full quarter view, how it will shape up.
Sir, how to forecast or think about the sustainable EBITDA margins or our aspirational EBITDA margins for next two years on annual basis, not on quarterly?
Yeah. So annual, I think, we remain steadfast on two parts, if I were to I mean, break it down for you. I think, Comfort Click, we are looking at continued growth of top line in good double digits, as we have mentioned. And, hopefully, with that business operating between 14+ kind of EBITDA margins. Our base business, we are where it was, and we are looking at taking it to 16%, 17%, or 18% levels, which is work in progress. And therefore, the mix will be slightly higher than that over the next one or two years, and it'll be, again, a function of how the business mix shapes up.
Okay.
Yeah, that's how we are looking at it.
Okay. And, sir, growth on Comfort Click, is it largely, as of now, penetrating the existing markets or we have added new geographies? But, when you say double-digit growth, what would be the key drivers for that, going ahead?
So let me just break it down into two or three parts. I think the big reliance will remain on growing the existing markets, because there is enough room to grow. Where their focus is within Europe to grow more reliably, increasing their share of D2C performance. Where they are anyway, Amazon will continue, the market places will grow, but they're wanting the mix to shift more towards D2C. They've entered new markets, still very small, but promising, which is these Poland, Finland, et cetera. U.S. also still very small. So largely, the whole growth is right now relying on the core markets and organic growth from that point of view, like-for-like growth, where they're relying more on D2C, which is also helping them grow. They're also launching new products and building around their existing portfolio to build it.
It may take some time for some large market like U.S. to shape up if it works, but, it's a ball in the air, which we believe has a potential. But, big belief is that, existing markets will expand as we move forward.
Is there other lever which is working for us, which is RiteBite? Is it largely, as of now, distribution-led? Because, I'm assuming it must be under index versus our overall potential. Or is it both that we are seeing product expansion also and distribution expansion, both working together?
Everything, actually. So we are seeing substantial growth within the platforms we've been existing in. We've existed in Q-commerce and e-commerce. We are seeing distribution expansion. We are seeing more sell-through through the existing outlets. We have added more products which have expanded, like we mentioned, Wafer Bars, and we've just launched RTD as we speak. So we are rolling out more products. We are reaching out more outlets. This is not gonna follow our overall distribution because that's much larger. This is focused, sharp distribution, while available in 40, 50 cities, but top 10 cities contribute disproportionately. Top outlets, you know, contribute disproportionately.
So it is more sharp, targeted, weighted distribution, quality of distribution presence rather than just numbers, which we are building on, and plus e-commerce and more institutions and more consumption points. So it's a very different approach, and we have a dedicated team to build on it.
Yeah. So and the last, repeating my request, earlier request, if we can improve our segmental disclosure, it will help us to track, because the portfolio is getting more complex, so it will help us to track it more effectively, and the engagement will be much more effective, going ahead.
No, no, your point is noted, Tejas. We are aware of it. So over the next few months, by end of the year, we'll come back and work on some of these things so that we can give you a better visibility. We've improved in the past, but this whole piece has come up in a certain way, so we will look at helping you guys to be able to understand this better.
Thanks, and all the best for coming quarters.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jaymin from ARDEKO Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Thank you so much for the opportunity, sir. And on the RiteBite—while I mean, your top line momentum for your RiteBite looks very strong, could you just maybe share how your repeat purchase for the cross SKU adoption, I mean, that trends are evolving for the Max Protein franchise. So how does, I mean, the retention compare to your pre-acquisition level? And any specific levers, I mean, are to be most effective in driving repeat behavior?
While I don't have a specific data to share, but I can tell you that, repeat purchase rates are only getting better, stronger. We've seen both online as well as even at the—I mean, I won't have the consumer data at the, for the general trade, but, the store data shows a stronger repeat purchase rates, more sell-through within the outlets, while we are also expanding outlets. Every month, we are sequentially expanding the outlets which are covered and selling more to the same outlets, and we're seeing a repeat purchase rates getting better. I think our focus has been that we have, I mean, it's a positive spiral where the brand—where there is a tailwind and business is going better, and we've also increased our investments.
And, we're getting operating leverage, which is increasing our margins, and we are investing back. So it's a positive spiral we have worked. So better distribution, better investment on the brand, is leading to better throughputs. And our innovation engine is also playing out. So we are seeing a good repeat purchase rates on the Max Protein business.
Got it, sir. Sir, on the Comfort Click, I mean, we understand it's a key pillar for your international strategy. However, I mean, the Comfort Click acquisition, there has been very limited public disclosure of operating on the unit economics KPI, and it has become a little challenging to understand how to gauge your traction or what the, how the integration process are going on. So you can just help us to understand any, I mean, core performance metrics that you track internally, and how those metrics, I mean, outperform your initial post-acquisition assumption?
So, I think, of course, we look at. I mean, I'll give you two, three factors that we are tracking at a high level, which may be helpful to you. We will work out a more comprehensive thing, like I mentioned to the other earlier speaker as well, which will come by the end of the year to help you understand. But, at a high level, we are looking at three or four metrics. We look at country-by-country performance, especially the top five, six countries like U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, which are the top significant business contributing markets, and each one of their growth, we look at it.
While we may not be able to give you specifics because of the confidentiality, but we are clearly looking at that, and maybe we'll figure out metrics for it. We've seen good traction across this. Second metrics we are looking at is marketplace performance and a D2C performance. So we have seen D2C performance has been ahead of the plans, while marketplace has been in line with largely what we were expecting.
One or two small hiccups, but largely it's all sorted. But D2C has been rather well, and it falls also in line with the strategy, because you own the consumers, you have a long-term value with the consumers, and you are able to throughput better. So we are seeing a good D2C performance. The third may be a repeat purchase rate, while we do not publish, but I can share with you, we have seen above 50%, repeat purchase rate on marketplaces, which is very, very healthy. There are only a few brands that we have seen seeing a repeat purchase rates of more than 50%. So clearly, we are amongst the stronger brands. Fourth could be in terms of the brand ratings across marketplaces, where we are above 4.6 out of 5 across all the markets. The next metrics that we look at is our market shares within the markets we operate, which is typically 8%-10%, which gives us enough room for growth across these.
Early days to look at new markets because they are very, very small. So these are some of the metrics that we are looking at. The other is the investment metrics. Early days, but for you to share, but we'll, we'll, you know, we'll be able to keep tracking that as well, that are-- Because it's a variable structure in, I mean, structure of P&L, given a very digital business. So a lot of investments happen. On the bottom of the funnel, they have started investing in the middle of the funnel, including, like I mentioned in the, probably in the last call also, some Wimbledon-led investments and some other middle funnel investments. So, we're looking at the quality of investments as well in terms of advertising and other marketing-led investments.
So overall, I think these are the broad metrics that we are looking at, apart from growth and high-level numbers that we will look at.
Got it, sir.
Some of these things we'll see how we can share with you, in case you guys have any other questions. Unfortunately, unlike Indian businesses, where a lot, a lot of this data is in public space, and you guys can pick it up more easily, we'll figure out a way to help you understand this business better.
Sure, sir. If I ask you one more question, I mean, have you, I mean, already, I mean, expand to three European market. So has the management, I mean, existing management of the Comfort Click, have taken a mandate to follow your multi-country breadth-first approach, or, I mean, are you focusing on deepening the existing market?
Sure. Sorry, I didn't understand. Basically, what the existing management of Comfort Click, and they work very closely with us. Our task is, if I were to put it in strategic terms, first is to grow existing markets. Even marketplaces, we are 8%-10% market share. There is enough room to grow, to own the customers better in terms of our loyalty and long-term value. We are looking at improving our D2C. The other is grow new markets, which includes U.S., some of the markets like Poland, Finland, we mentioned, or UAE, which we are also expanding into. Third is, within the brands are significant dependencies on WeightWorld, which is where we have a large presence. We are also looking at expanding Animigo, which is an animal pet care, which we have relaunched.
Right.
Which is work in progress, it'll take some time to build up. And then new products within the WeightWorld and Animigo, which we're doing. And these are aligned, you know, tracked on a monthly basis, with the management, there.
Got it, sir. Got it. That's it from my side. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mayur Parkaria from Wealth Managers India Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir, and thank you for taking my questions. So one is a slight clarification, understanding, you know, on the backdrop of the remarks we have in the presentation and your initial remarks. Normally, December and September quarter, we understand because of seasonality, is a low-margin business and the last two years, we have been in the region of 3%-4% kind of in these two quarters, I was saying. So that is about the base business. The base business, excluding Comfort Click, you mentioned that has volume growth has been also double digits. But when we look at the mid-teens of Comfort Click EBITDA margins, but the overall consolidated entity is around 6% today.
Is it that the base business, excluding Comfort Click and RiteBite, would have been even lower than the previous year? It's just a clarification. I just wanted to understand, sir.
Yes, it could have been lower. There are two or three anchors in it. One of the points I also made in my speech was also there's almost INR 90 million GST, which was budgeting support, which was in the last quarter. And some of the additional expenses in terms of investing in the additional people field that we have created. So some of those expenses then have impacted the margin, so it is therefore lower.
But then you think this is a yearly situation because, you know, while it's a quarter, the whole understanding was we were moving from 13%-14% on the base business to 16%-17%, and you also mentioned that we are looking forward to that. So every quarter also will have some improvement broadly. So will it be fair to say that this was a quarter which one should not read too much, and the longest trend remains of improving margins in the next two years to 16%-17% on the base business?
So, typically, and without Comfort Click, if you look at it, our margins are so thin, like INR 10 crore, INR 15 crore. You know, you take any INR 5 crore, INR 8 crore spend-
Right, right.
It just moves the margin by 30%-40%. So these quarters, I would say, either we'll be, as a management, we'll be held back in our long-term actions if we were overprotective about this.
No, sir, yearly I was asking.
So some of these things you should treat it... Yeah. Annually, I don't think there is any major impact from our actions. And some of these actions-
Yeah, but despite all these investments which you are mentioning, we are in a position to say that we will be in 16%-17% range in two years' time.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, they will not have any impact. So some of these calls you take, you're not protecting the quarter, you are more focused on how do we build the business from a next quarter- a few quarters forward. So that's how I would read it. Nothing beyond that.
Okay. Sir, is the, you know, Everyuth growth in this quarter has been below our expectation or below the historical numbers? It looks like because the segment is negative. I understand that we have other products seasonally, which was weak. But is also Everyuth anything to... You know, would you like to add any color that, is there any difference in trend line growths which we are seeing over there, or is it in line with the previous one? Or is it just because of Nycil, which must have impacted it?
I think largely it's Nycil which is impacted, but Everyuth has also been lower. But I think, I, I'll be more worried from a more medium and long term. And even if we look at YTD, we are in good double-digit growth. A quarter here and there, will not matter because the underlying trends remain consistent. Our optics are building up. So some of those things can happen, but yes, it is less than, within the quarter, less than what I would like it to be, but that's okay. Some of those things happen. If I look at over last, four, five to six years, we've seen a very consistent performance at Everyuth, but there have been quarters, one-off, like this earlier also, where it gets impacted, but sometimes it is, trade, sentiment, something or the other. Nothing much to read about. We are steadfast on that.
Okay. So last question, a little longish, and again, it's just, while we may think you... You know, like a modeling question, but, you know, just trying to understand a very long-term, addressable market, from a Comfort Click. And I understand you would share more in this understanding in the next quarter for us to, look at, long-term understanding. But, just, you know, shoot, you know, moonshot in terms of, our base business is almost, you know, one, quite large compared to the Comfort Click in the current position. You know, while we understand that, the quarterly run rates have started to come in.
But do you think that in three years' time, Comfort Click, given the high growth rates at which it operates, can be bigger than the entity, our standalone entity, Indian entity, is it possible given the growth rate? Just as a very broad, again, not holding on the projection in that sense, but as a, is the, is the addressable market long enough, or do we think that we can be that business, that top line can be, you know, larger than where we operate currently in three to four years' time?
Anything is possible because the market is large enough. So if you're saying, is it possible? Yes. Will it be? Hard to say. Right now, I would say analyzed, because we published pre-acquisition numbers. If you look at it, our estimate is almost one third of our business is international, which is largely led by Comfort Click and a little bit of our pre-existing non-Comfort Click international business. That amounts to about one third of our overall revenue. But, can it be larger? We'll have to wait and watch. The market is addressable and large enough, but trust us, we are also doing enough initiatives to drive other businesses.
Okay, sir. Thank you. Wish you all the best. I'll come in the queue for the subsequent.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants who wish to ask questions may press star and one at this time. The next question is from the line of Kinjal Mota from Banyan Tree Advisors. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. One clarification, excluding the impact of RiteBite and Comfort Click, what would be our YoY growth of our core legacy business?
I don't think we're sharing largely these numbers, because then I'll have to. So, if I were to give you excluding Comfort Click and Seasonal Brands, we have registered double-digit growth. But, this is the only level of details we are sharing at this stage. Because if I start giving all the specific details, it practically opens up everything. So we are helping-
Sure.
Improve disclosures, but that'll just get down to a lot more details.
Sure.
In any case, without Comfort Click and RiteBite, for nine months, there's a large chunk sitting on Glucon-D and Nycil, which have-
Right.
a deep impact, so therefore it just becomes harder to keep sharing that.
Sure, no problem. Second question, second question was, in terms of other expenses, I understand that Comfort Click is now the part, like, Comfort Click is integrated, but is there any line item which has, like, significantly grew? Because other expenses went up by almost 3x YoY.
No, it's largely led by, you know, the comparison, which is not like to like, because of the inclusion of Comfort Click and RiteBite business expenses. Otherwise, structurally, nothing has changed in the other expense line item.
Sure. And the last question was, with the consolidation of RiteBite and the incremental interest and depreciation-related expenses that would come because of Comfort Click, and on the top of that, the new MAT provisions which were discussed in the budget, what would be the impact on our tax rates? Like, how should we look at our effective tax rate going forward? Is there any change in the guidance?
Yeah. So, you know, the, there was a budget announcement just, couple of days before, and our team is working on, finalizing the impact on the, you know, of this revised MAT as well as awaiting the set up of the MAT, you know, as per the new regime. And our team will be ready with the analysis in about week's time, and once we are ready, we'll be able to disseminate the information to all of you guys, in about week's time.
Okay. Sure. Sure, that's all from my side. That's all from my side. Thank you, sir, and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one now. Next, we have the follow-up question from the line of Jaymin from ARDEKO Asset Management. Please go ahead. Jaymin, you are on unmute. You can speak. Sir, as there is no response from Jaymin's line, can we move forward to the next question?
Yeah.
Okay. So the next question is from the line of Naveen Trivedi, from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good evening, everyone. So my first question is on the Max Protein side. Is it possible to give some gross margin understanding about this business? And at what revenue scale you think that this business can also reach double-digit EBITDA margin?
Largely, gross margins have been similar to our rest of the business.
Excluding Comfort Click.
Excluding Comfort Click. So it's largely in line with that. It was break even when we acquired. It's touching, I mean, if you hear from my commentary, it's touching. We are seeing it touching double-digit standalone EBITDA margins, and we are hopeful that it can be a much larger, more profitable business while it expands.
Okay. So, in one of your comment, you had mentioned that this is a business which can achieve around even the INR 500 crore kind of revenue mark. Given we have seen a couple of quarters and the pace of the business is also kind of exceed our expectations, do you think that this INR 500 crore kind of aspirational revenue scale is achievable in another two years' time frame?
Hypothetically, yes. I can't comment on the specifics, but yes, of course, it's possible. There is good potential in this.
Oh, sure. And since you're like, I think next we kind of commenting about more disclosures from the next quarter onwards. Any kind of a color about the Comfort Click constant currency growth rate, if you can share?
We are not right now specifically sharing their growth rates as a separate line item.
Sure, sir. Sure.
Hello
Yeah.
Naveen.
Yeah.
Naveen, if you want, I mean, just, we have acquired a business that has been four to five months now, and, you know, EUR-INR depreciation and on GBP-INR depreciation is in the range of 3%-4% on an annualized basis. But, you know, we, we'll keep your suggestion into, you know, account, and from maybe next year onwards, we'll start reporting constant currency growth also. Yeah.
Sure, sir. Just last question: typically our season organizing business seasonality is between January to June. Any color about how has been the first 30 days sort of a demand trend? Is it in line with kind of our expectations? That's all from my side.
No, overall, I mean, early days to say everything is in line. Just, I mean, 30 days, the real season starts from March, April. So, these 30 days, yes, we are, it's in line with our expectation, but that's it. Nothing beyond that.
Sure, sir. Thank you so much from my side.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mayur Parkaria from Wealth Managers India Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Sir, thank you for taking my questions again. Sir, on the Nycil and Glucon-D side, we know—we understand that FY 2026 was a washout year kind of situation because of rains and seasonality situation. So from an inventory channel perspective and, in, you know, from the next year perspective, would you say that it is important to have a normal year for us to report the kind of margins which we look at, incremental margin growth, for—because that portfolio will be important and it didn't happen in FY 2026. But, or we have we already is the inventory or the stocks are already absorbed and, you know, the impact of that is now behind us?
Or will it be very important for us to have a normal year or a good year, from those two product perspectives, so that the impact can be understood on the seasonality as we go ahead, sir, for the next year?
Okay, let me just break it down into two parts. So you're talking about margin, and you're talking about with trade inventory. So first, from a trade inventory point of view, I think, calendar year 2025, the seasonality was worse than what I have seen in the last six to eight years' data. And therefore, the trade channel inventory was worse than what we've seen. But we've taken enough actions to ensure that, that's all accounted for. Some of the retail or distributors, we also took a hit and absorbed the inventory, because at the end of it, if it is not selling to a consumer, it is our responsibility.
So we've taken some of the actions, and we believe as the build-up to the season, which really picks up around April, we would have, you know, hit the market, clean up that inventory, and fresh stocks are built in. So that I think we know how to do it, and, there's a whole learning in the organization for that, so that shall be sorted. How will Glucon-D, Nycil, Glucon-D and Nycil impact our margin? I think, it's very, very crucial, because they have a much higher than fair share of margin. So they have a higher index to our average margins without the Comfort Click business. And therefore, it is very, very important for us to get this right.
They, they provide us not just, improved average gross margins, but also have a operating leverage on our overall business. So it is very important for us to get this right. My own understanding and whatever we have seen of it, it's very hard to have, you know, back-to-back seasons go wrong. Even if the seasons, back-to-back seasons don't, I mean, do not work out, the normalized base will certainly give us a growth. So I'm not worried about growth, but the potential to grow much more and deliver a much better results is, is definitely exists, and therefore, we're looking forward to a better season, leading to, better, both revenue and EBITDA impacts.
So it is very important for us to have—I mean, just an improvement over previous years. Previous year will not be sufficient. We need a normal year or a good year for us to-
Of course, of course.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
Of course.
Sir, the second question is slightly qualitative in nature. From a Comfort Click point of view, that business is platform and digital driven. And for us, it's a, to that extent, it's a newer business to handle relative to the brick-and-mortar in India, largely brick-and-mortar, I'm saying, largely. It's not that we don't have experience, I understand, but of the modern trade and e-commerce. But then that's a full business which is largely driven that way. The mindset or the current sales activities, the promotion, the expenses, everything in the business model is different. Even the perspective from employees. And the markets are also developed markets.
What I wanted to understand is, I understand it's only four months, but has there been any issues or your experience in terms of employee retention, in terms of also expenditure profile, which will undergo a meaningful change or has undergone a meaningful change compared to what when you acquired this? Or is it, are there any risks which are emerging, or are there any things which is changing, has changed compared to when you acquired? Or is it, is it business as usual and continuity is there, and it is expected to stay over the next two, three years?
I think a simple answer is that over the last four months, we've not seen any significant surprises, upside or downside, for the business. A small little ups and downs within the business cycles that happen, we've seen, but nothing surprising. We've spent significant time understanding the business as a part of due diligence, and I think a lot of those things have been consistent over the last four months. As far as retention of the critical talent is concerned, we have spoken earlier also. We have committed to a long-term LTIs long-term incentive program for critical employees. We are working with them closely, both in trying to engage with them and help them, you know, work through their business in the right way.
So at this stage, I think no surprises. Will it stay, as your last question, two, three years like this? We hope to and build on this, but we'll see as it plays out. But, right now, last four months have not given us any reason to believe otherwise.
Okay, great. Sir, what would be the total strength in the Comfort Click, sir, employee strength?
About 340, 300+, largely Indian resident, large offices between Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Okay. Thank you, sir. Thank you for your detailed explanation. Thank you, and wish you all the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Aditya from Sowilo Investment Managers LLP. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. My question was, like, if I just look at your numbers, at the current moment, I understand, from EBITDA to PAT, the journey basically is being affected because of the acquisitions, right? Both, the interest cost or the amortization. So how long do you think that this will continue? And, you know, I'm just trying to understand, you know, where, which, is, is the current quarter the bottom or, we would, we should expect, this to continue, say, for the near future as well?
So as we talked about this earlier also, maybe the current year, current financial year will be the bottom, and from next financial year onwards, we'll have even a, you know, EPS accretive, P&L even for the new entity-
Got it.
Newly acquired entity.
At the PAT level as well.
At PAT level as well.
Understood. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sandeep Abhange from LKP Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you for taking the question. So I just had one question regarding company acquisition, which you have made. So we have seen quite a bit of new launches in this vitamins and supplements phase in India as well. There have been a lot of brands which have been growing very fast, and they are available in all the channels. Just wanted to understand that, are you planning to introduce this portfolio in India as well going forward? I'm trying to ask this question from a perspective of like two- to three-year perspective. You can just throw some light on this. That will be great. Thank you.
So, I think, I would review this from the lens of Comfort Click rather than review of the fact that we are an India resident business. I think from a Comfort Click, U.K.-based entity, they would first want to, where should I be? And I think Europe and U.S. are much larger, much potentially bigger markets to play, have a more similar, opportunity. So I think that's a bigger priority. India is clearly one of the priorities, but, we'll evaluate maybe in some time as things go along. But, the business has done rather well in those more developed, larger, markets. So India falls a little lower in priority. We'll, we'll obviously evaluate, we'll continue to evaluate, and at appropriate time, we'll take our calls.
Okay. So no plans in near future?
Yeah.
Okay, okay. And, just, one last bookkeeping question I had, regarding your base business. I think you mentioned the margins of your base business. So can you mention it again, on the margins of base business?
We don't share those numbers separately.
Okay. Okay, thank you so much.
Thank you. We'll take the last question from the line of Jaymin from ARDEKO Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity again, sir. Can you hear me?
Yes, please.
It seems like there's a network issue on Jaymin's side.
Yeah. So if there are no more questions, w e can end the call.
Okay, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you, everyone. From our perspective, we've started the new year and new budget and new season from our perspective, and we're hopeful that we will be able to build further on where we've seen the last few quarters gone by and close the year productively as we wish to. Look forward to you engaging with you in the next quarter. Thank you, and best wishes.
On behalf of Zydus Wellness Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.