Godrej Consumer Products opens Rs 250 crore Kendal unit to add about 15 percent capacity in Indonesia

Godrej Consumer Products, the maker of everyday mosquito repellents, soaps and hair colour used by 140.00 crore consumers globally , on 6 October 2026 inaugurated the first phase of its new Kendal factory in Indonesia as part of an IDR 50,000 crore, about Rs 250 crore, investment , adding about 15 percent home and personal care capacity at a time when its Indonesia business has turned from flat sales to double-digit growth, giving it headroom to sell more locally and export in the region .

What Kendal is

Godrej Consumer Products Indonesia, operating as a subsidiary of India-based Godrej Consumer Products Limited, inaugurated the first phase in the Kendal Special Economic Zone . The first phase has been developed across 2.5 hectares of a 5.5 hectare site and is dedicated to Household Insecticides, to serve the Indonesian market and support exports .

The investment builds on presence in Indonesia since 2010 . Since then, the business has grown 4.5 times while brands including HIT, Stella, Mitu and NYU reach approximately 1 in 4 Indonesian households . The company ranks as the second largest player in Household Insecticides in Indonesia and the number one player in Air Fresheners and Wet Tissues in Indonesia .

Managing Director and CEO Aasif Malbari said the IDR 50,000 crore investment will expand home and personal care categories capacity by approximately 15 percent . He said the expansion addresses current capacity utilization of 75-80 percent, positioning the company to meet rising regional demand and scale . He added that Kendal will become a platform for exports around the region .

The plant was built in just over a year with technology and data embedded into operations from the start, giving better visibility and faster decisions . Business Head for Indonesia Rajesh Sethuraman said it brings the company closer to real demand and gives capability to turn consumer insight into relevant innovation at scale . On people and operations, the company said inclusion is being designed into the workplace, with an ambition for women to represent 50 percent of the workforce alongside opportunities for persons with disabilities . The inauguration brought together the Ambassador of India to Indonesia, the Deputy Governor of Central Java and the Regent of Kendal alongside company leaders .

Why Indonesia needs capacity now

Kendal lands just as Indonesia has come back to stable growth after a long pricing-led slump . The company had flagged for Q2 FY27, the quarter ended 30 September 2026, that Indonesia was still recovering and was expected to grow high-teens in sales and high-single-digit in volume on better selling, share gains and healthy category trends . At whole-company level for Q2 FY27 it expected high-teens revenue growth, high-single-digit underlying volume growth and double-digit EBITDA growth . A board meeting was set for 29 October 2026 to approve detailed Q2 results .

The quarterly path shows the turn:

Sources: Q1 FY25 — ; Q2 FY25 — ; Q3 FY25 — ; Q4 FY25 — ; Q1 FY26 — ; Q2 FY26 — ; Q3 FY26 — ; Q4 FY26 — ; Q1 FY27 — .

Quarter	Indonesia net sales in Rs crore
Q1 FY25	442
Q2 FY25	479
Q3 FY25	469
Q4 FY25	476
Q1 FY26	422
Q2 FY26	447
Q3 FY26	460
Q4 FY26	492
Q1 FY27	487

On the updated presentation basis, year-on-year growth was minus 5 percent in Q1 FY26, minus 7 percent in Q2 FY26, minus 2 percent in Q3 FY26 and 3 percent in Q4 FY26 . In Q1 FY27, Indonesia sales were Rs 487 crore, up 15 percent year-on-year and 11 percent in constant currency terms . Underlying volume growth was 10 percent in Q1 FY27, led by Shampoo HC and Household Insecticides . In Q4 FY26 the business had delivered 4 percent underlying volume growth and 3 percent sales growth . In Q3 FY26 it had delivered 5 percent volume growth with revenue flattish after adjusting for a distribution change . In Q2 FY26 it had delivered 2 percent volume growth with revenue down 7 percent .

Profitability has held while volumes recovered. Indonesia operating EBITDA margin, after adjusting business support charges, royalty and technical fees, was 21.5 percent in Q1 FY27 with EBITDA growth of 11 percent year-on-year . In Q4 FY26 the margin was 28.2 percent with EBITDA growth of 1 percent year-on-year, helped by Lebaran season demand . Management has described Indonesia margins as steady .

Management links the recovery to four factors in Q1 FY27: macro, base, El Nino and faster growth in the Stella air business after stepping up media behind a global air model . It said the air business growth rate has stepped up, which it sees as sustainable . For household insecticides, it expects a strong positive in Indonesia from El Nino because Indonesia gets hotter and rains more . It said some El Nino benefit was already visible in Q1 FY27 with more expected in Q2 FY27 . The Stella LV relaunch has witnessed robust consumer traction and sell-outs .

How the spend sits on the balance sheet

The Rs 250 crore Kendal commitment sits against a consolidated scale where revenue from operations was Rs 15177.9 crore for FY26 versus Rs 14364.29 crore for FY25 . EBITDA was Rs 3189.26 crore for FY26 versus Rs 3256.0 crore for FY25, with EBITDA margin at 21.0 percent for FY26 versus 22.7 percent for FY25 . Net profit was Rs 1861.47 crore for FY26 versus Rs 1852.3 crore for FY25 .

Capex was Rs 569.52 crore for FY26 and Rs 599.34 crore for FY25 . Cash and equivalents was Rs 976.87 crore for FY26 versus Rs 454.92 crore for FY25 . Total borrowings was Rs 4135.98 crore for FY26 versus Rs 3882.59 crore for FY25, all short-term debt with long-term debt at Rs 0.0 crore . Debt to equity was 0.33 times for FY26 versus 0.32 times for FY25 . Net debt was Rs 3159.11 crore for FY26 versus Rs 3427.67 crore for FY25 . Operating cash flow was Rs 2488.46 crore for FY26 versus Rs 2576.75 crore for FY25 . Free cash flow was Rs 1918.94 crore for FY26 versus Rs 1977.41 crore for FY25 . Property, plant and equipment was Rs 2265.35 crore for FY26 versus Rs 1443.14 crore for FY25 .

In other words, recent capex has run well above depreciation while operating cash has covered it, with no long-term debt on the books . Management has only flagged qualitatively that cash may get a little squeezed amid commodity volatility in FY27 .

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