GOODRICKE GROUP LTD.

Teas for every palate and pocket

The second largest tea-producing company in India is a part of UK-based Camellia Plc – an international group and the world’s largest tea producer in the private sector, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Camellia Plc, employing over 73,000 employees worldwide, has interests in agriculture and horticulture.

Camellia Plc has interests in banking and financial services, food storage and distribution, and engineering, including the Goodricke group, Stewart Hall (India) Ltd, Amgourie India Ltd and Kohinoor Tea Company Pvt Ltd. The group owns 30 gardens and 27 tea factories spread over Darjeeling, Dooars, Assam and Cochar.

As far as Goodricke is concerned, the company has in recent years acquired two Assam-based tea estates of McLeod company, which was facing economic difficulties.

Today, Goodricke owns 29 tea gardens spread over Darjeeling, Dooars and Assam. Steeped in tradition and blended with global excellence, the most coveted teas come from the Goodricke group. Its major popular brands include Goodricke Castleton, Roasted and Margaret’s Hope from the Darjeeling gardens, while White and Black (CTC) teas include Goodricke Khaass, Goodricke Zabardast, and Goodricke Chai. According to the management, from boutique teas to popular blends, there is a Goodricke tea to suit everyone’s palate and pockets.

SALES CHANNELS

The company’s marketing channels for bulk teas include the public auction system and private sales, either in original or blended form. Its instant tea products include Instant Black Tea, Instant Darjeeling Tea, Instant Grey, and Instant Oolong. It also provides hot water soluble (HWS) and cold water soluble (CWS) Instant Tea. The company operates approximately 18 tea estates spread across West Bengal and Assam, and sells bulk tea both in the domestic and international markets.

The management claims that the company implements the highest technologies and maintains international standards in tea production. A majority of its manufacturing plants operate as per ISO standards and the company has strong core values that aim for a sustainable business.

On the financial front, the company, which was passing through a depressing phase for the last few years, having slipped into the red, turned the corner last year. During the last 13 years, its sales turnover has modestly increased from Rs 540 crore in fiscal 2012 to Rs 929 crore, but its operating profit of Rs 30 crore in fiscal 2012 turned into a loss of Rs 49 crore. But it came out of the red in fiscal 2024, with a profit of Rs 19 crore in fiscal 2025. Likewise, at the net level, the company had plunged into the red, incurring a huge loss of Rs 69 crore in fiscal 2024. But last year (2025), it earned a net profit of Rs 20 crore. What is more, prospects for the company are all the more promising. Consider:

• The heavy cropping months for tea – June to September — will come to an end next week. However, the industry has not been able to offset initial losses as yet. Little wonder, adverse weather conditions have driven up tea prices, prompting companies like Tata Consumer Products and Hindustan Unilever to implement gradual price increases. Further hikes are expected going ahead.

AUCTION PRICES

• Adverse weather conditions have affected tea crops and have led to a sharp decline in production, while soaring procurement costs and dwindling stockpiles have forced tea companies to hike prices. The primary tea-producing regions of Assam and West Bengal have been particularly hard hit, leading to a spike in prices auction centres. The Goodricke group, a major tea company in these areas, is one of the mega beneficiaries of the price hike.
• Last year, the Union government announced a Rs 528-crore scheme for modernisation and expansion of the tea industry. The plan, being implemented by the Tea Board, will encourage plantation, development, quality upgrading, tea promotion and capacity building. Large tea estates like Goodricke will receive support for replanting efforts, while small tea growers, entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHGs) can avail assistance for establishing nurseries with recommended cultivars.

F.M.C.G. PLAN

• Goodricke has plans to diversify into the FMCG and hospitality sectors. The company is finalising a proposal to sell four tea gardens to fund these diversified ventures. These include hotels in Kolkata, Dooars and Darjeeling. The company also aims to launch milk and horticulture products under its brand. It has ambitious plans for its FMCG business, which will include milk products, horticulture products, and white label products which will be procured by the company and packaged as well as marketed under the Goodricke brand. The company has started negotiations with 2-3 leading hospitality groups for identification of property and management contracts for tea tourism. It is also planning to grow horticulture crops, including turmeric, garlic and ginger, and has plans to set up a piggery. As the company has turned the corner financially and its future prospects are promising, the share price of Goodricke has stopped its downward drift. The share price, which had gone down to Rs 162, has recovered to Rs 225 and there are chances that it will reach Rs 300 in the next few months. Discerning investors can certainly add this stock to their portfolio with a longterm perspective.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)

SOUTH INDIAN BANK

Banking on its cutting-edge tech

Headquartered at Thrissur, South Indian Bank is a major private sector bank of Kerala with a nationwide presence. The bank has 955 branches, 2 ultra small branches, 1 service branch, 127 CRMs, and 1,290 ATMs spanning 26 states and 4 Union territories. Overseas, the bank has a representative office in Dubai.

The bank is a pioneer in technology-based banking with an array of digital products and services, and has won the UiPath Automation Excellence Award, 2021 for best automation for the business community. It also has one of the younger workforces in the banking sector of the country.

However, during the last one decade or so, the bank’s financial performance was hit hard on account of certain operational challenges and market headwinds. In one instance, the Reserve Bank of India penalised SIB for not notifying customers about minimum balance changes, indicating compliance and customer service gaps. Financial and institutional investors started losing confidence in the company and dumped a substantial part of their holdings in SIB. At the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, NPAs went up, adversely affecting the profitability of the bank.

TOUGH TIMES

Though, during the last 13 years, revenues doubled to Rs 9,413 crore in fiscal 2025, the profit tumbled from Rs 361 crore in fiscal 2013 and Rs 405 crore in fiscal 2014 to a loss of Rs 30 crore in fiscal 2015 and to Rs 1,061 crore in fiscal 2021. However, the situation is undergoing a distinct change and the bank is turning the corner. Consider:

• Determined to take out the bank out of the woods and put it back on the path of growth, the management prepared a vision 2025 document which focuses on 6 C’s — capital, CASA, cost-to-income, competency-building, customer focus and compliance. The implementation of the vision document has started improving the bank’s performance. A strong emphasis on improving asset quality has led to a steady decline in gross and net NPAs, showing positive signs for the bank’s financial health.
• Of late, the bank has emerged as a front-runner in adopting modern technology, enhancing its digital offerings like a mobile banking app, an ‘SIB mirror’ and other digital products to serve customer needs.
• SIB has partnered with MO Engage to drive digital innovation and enhance customer engagement across all channels. This tie-up signals a major shift in the bank’s approach to personalising customer interactions through automation and advanced data analytics.

LOAN ON M.F.s

SIB has launched a new digital loan facility, enabling customers to avail loans against their mutual fund investments. It has partnered with Ark Neo for a paperless mutual fund loan platform styled ‘Dhanlap’, which is operated by Ark Neo. People who need cash without breaking their investments will be delighted with this SIB scheme, which empowers mutual fund investors to meet their immediate financial needs without compromising on their investment goals.

• Witnessing its positive performance for 11 consecutive quarters, Market Mojo, a leading stock analysis platform, has upgraded South Indian Bank from a ‘Sell’ to a ‘Hold’ rating. The decision is based on the bank’s healthy long-term growth with a net profit growth rate of 17 per cent annually, operating cash flow at a high of Rs 7,075.21 crore, and a credit/deposit ratio at 77.93 per cent.
• With an RoA of 1, SI Bank is currently trading at a very attractive valuation with a price-to-book value of 0.7. The stock is also trading at a discount compared to its average historical valuations.

ASSET REJIG

• The management is focused on building a low-ticket loan book with a steady balance sheet clean-up, which will help improve asset quality substantially and contribute to a continued reduction in net stressed assets, comfortable capital and improved profitability.
• Its focus on the retail and MSME segments will boost margins. ICICI Direct Research expects advance growth of 13% in FYs 2024 and 26, with a gradual uptick in the proportion of MSME and retail loans. In FY25, we expect the company to register an EPS of Rs 4.8, which is likely to rise to Rs 5.45 in FY26. The scrip trades at Rs 24. Its long-term prospects are quite encouraging.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)