State of Affairs - Consumers turning cautious
High vegetable, grocery, and energy prices have disrupted the budget of most Indian households. Besides, unaffordable housing costs (rentals & EMI) and education & healthcare costs have impacted many middle-class households. An analysis of 1QFY24 results of the consumer companies indicates that there was nothing particularly noteworthy in the overall performance of the consumer companies. Demand environment for both staples and durable consumer goods remained subdued; though some companies reported decent growth in margins primarily due to lower costs. The current quarter (2QFY24) has witnessed disruptions due to challenging weather conditions. The southwest monsoon has been erratic both temporally and spatially. To date only about 43% of districts have received normal rainfall; whereas 40% of districts are deficient and 17% have received excess or large excess rainfall. Northern states have witnessed significant disruptions due to excess rains; impacting the logistics and cr...