Buy Marico; target of Rs 958: Prabhudas Lilladher

What happened

Prabhudas Lilladher upgraded Marico from Accumulate to Buy and set a target price of Rs 958. The brokerage cited a healthy demand outlook, higher EBITDA growth guidance, an earlier revenue target, subdued competition in Parachute, and continued traction across food, consumer brands, and international markets.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

The higher growth outlook could support Marico’s future sales and profit, while the brokerage’s expected margin improvement could lift profit per sale. However, rising copra and other input prices may raise production costs and pressure margins in the near term.

Analyst inference

The report combines expectations of strong growth in foods, personal care and digital-first brands with a warning about higher input costs. It also cites the company’s plans for AI adoption and broader distribution of its premium products, which could require execution and spending.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Track whether Marico delivers its FY27 guidance of sales above Rs 150bn and EBITDA growth of about 24–25%, as stated in the report. Confirmed
2. Watch copra, HDPE, LLP and rice bran oil prices; continued increases could raise production costs and make the projected year-on-year margin improvement harder to achieve. Analyst inference
3. Assess whether SETU 2.0, the company’s AI adoption and premium-product distribution plan, helps sustain growth across its brands and markets. Analyst inference

Evidence

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