GST roadblocks hit Patanjali growth in FY18

Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali, which has recorded multi-fold growth in recent years, is expecting a marginal growth for 2017-18, on account of Goods and Services Tax regime, said a company official.

Haridwar-based firm said it was impacted as it had a window of 10 months only in the last fiscal, as the company took two months to adopt the framework of the GST system, develop infrastructure and supply chain.

However, the company, which has lined up several launches -- from packaged drinking water to dairy products, expect to resume its high growth trajectory from this fiscal.

"We are shortly going to announce our revenue, this would be higher than the last year. We have achieved a marginal growth (last fiscal) but we are in growth mode," Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala told PTI.

"Because we were focussing more on systematic development for requirement of GST. This gave us less operational time, it was not a 12 months year for us," he further added.

In financial year 2016-17 Patanjali had clocked a turnover of Rs 10,561 crore, registering a 111 per cent growth. The firm had announced last year to double it by crossing Rs 20,000-crore mark.

Despite hiccups, Patanjali is confident to resume its growth path in the ongoing fiscal.

"We have lined up several launches this year and soon resume the same growth path as we have done in previous year," Tijarawala said.

The company has lined up product launches such as Divya Jal in packaged drinking water and baby diapers under its Shishu Care brand.

Besides, the company is planning to foray into diary products.

It will also enter into apparel, clothing and garments segment this year.

"Patanjali will do wonders in future like it did in previous years," he added.

Since two years, Patanjali is expanding its offering and has entered into over a dozen categories in FMCG segment.

The company is investing in food processing and strengthening its production capabilities. It is also investing in six mega food park projects, including Nagpur (MP), Dhankaur (UP) and Baripada (Assam).

In January this year, Patanjali Ayurved has forayed into e-commerce for its FMCG items, partnering major players in the space, including Amazon and Flipkart.

It has partnered eight players, including Grofers, Shopclues, BigBasket, 1mg, PaytmMall and Netmeds, through which its entire range of products was made available online.