AWL AGRI BUSINESS

Edible oils king on growth path

Awil Agri Business Ltd, formerly known as Adani Wilmar Ltd, is a leading FMCG company that provides kitchen essentials like edible oils, wheat flour, rice, pulses and sugar to Indian consumers. Its products are offered under a wide range of brands across a broad price spectrum. Since inception in 1999, it has served a niche for itself in the Indian edible oil industry.

The company was established 27 years ago as a joint venture between India’s Adani group and Singapore’s Wilmar International. By late 2025, the Adani group exited by selling its 44% equity holding to public shareholders and Wilmar International. After November 2025, when Adani Wilmar became Awil Agri Business, the Wilmar group emerged as the majority shareholder with a 56.94% stake.

The Ahmedabad-headquartered company has emerged as India’s largest processor of edible oils, operating as many as 24 plants across 11 states. Today, it reaches over 123 million Indian households with an extensive distribution network of more than 10,000 distributors. The company is doing well on the export front and its products find their way into the markets of over 50 countries.

PROFIT SKYROCKETS

Awil Agri is doing extremely well in its financial performance. During the last 12 years, its sales turnover has expanded more than five times from Rs 14,780 crore in fiscal 2014 to Rs 74,731 crore in fiscal 2026, with operating profit skyrocketing from Rs 228 crore to Rs 2131 crore and the profit at net level spurting from Rs 278 crore to Rs 1,045 crore.

What is more, future prospects for the company are all the more promising. Consider:

The company has established India’s No. 1 edible oil brand, ‘Fortune’, and its brand equity is now being leveraged to expand into other staples like Basmati rice, pulses, ‘besan’, etc. Further, to cater to health-conscious Indians, the company has introduced value-added health oils like rice bran and Vivo. Its edible oil brand, ‘Rupchanda’, is the market leader in Bangladesh, where it owns and operates two large refineries. Apart from edible oils, the company has a leadership position in the castor oil, oleo chemicals and speciality fats business in India.

A strong business momentum has led to increased marketshare in key product categories. In edible oils, ROCP (refined oil consumer pack), the marketshare of Awil increased by 60 bps YoY to 19.0% on a moving annual total (MAT) basis, whereas in wheat flour, its marketshare increased by 90 bps YoY to 5.9%. Additionally, the branded exports volume has surged by 36% YoY.

RECORD REVENUE

With stable edible oil prices, the company has posted strong profits over the last three quarters. For Q1FY25, it delivered its highest-ever EBITDA at Rs 619 crore and PAT of Rs 313 crore.

The company’s revenue grew by 10% YoY to Rs 14,169 crore. The consumer shift to branded staples is benefiting it significantly. Awil delivered another strong quarter with double-digit growth in both edible oils and the Food and FMCG segments. The edible oils volume grew by 12% YoY to surpass one million mt and the Food & FMCG volume grew by 42% YoY, exceeding Rs 1,500 crore in Q1.

The stability in edible oil prices augurs well for its business, allowing it to deliver strong profits over the past three quarters. In Q1FY25, it achieved the highest-ever EBITDA of Rs 619 crore, a 375% increase YoY, and PAT of Rs 313 crore against a loss of Rs 79 crore.

Along with its top brand, ‘Fortune’, the company expects continued marketshare gains from regional brands. Its Food products are making significant inroads into Indian households, and the management plans to meet this large demand by enhancing Food distribution through its edible oil network. In under two years since launching the dedicated HORECA distribution channel, Awil has surpassed Rs 500 crore in revenue on a last 12-month basis and achieved a 90% YoY volume increase in Q1.

F.M.C.G. DEMERGER

Adani Enterprises (AEL) approved demerger of the food FMCG business to the company along with AEL’s strategic investment in Adani Commodities LLP. The food FMCG business has become self-sustained, performing well, and is poised for further growth under Adani Wilmar. The foods unit includes the trading and supply of edible oil & allied commodities, investments in Adani Commodities, and other assets and liabilities associated with the business. The move will help the promoters — Adani Commodities and Lence (belonging to Wilmar) — of Adani Wilmar to bring down their stake in the company to 77% from 88%.

The share price of Awil is quoted in the range of Rs 175-180. Prospects for the company and its stock are quite promising. Investors with a long-term perspective can certainly add the stock to their portfolio.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)

CSB BANK

Kerala-based, bank growing pan-India

CSB Bank, formerly known as Catholic Syrian Bank, is one of the oldest (incorporated in 1920, over a century ago!) private sector regional banks in the country. It offers a wide range of banking products and services, including loans, insurance, cards and investment for personal and business needs. Headquartered in Thrissur (Kerala), it has in recent years been expanding beyond its traditional region.

The bank went public in 2019 after gaining a significant presence in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Today, it has a network of 862 branches and 832 ATMs/CRMs across India. In 1975, it achieved Scheduled Bank-A Class status and in 2016, the Reserve Bank of India allowed Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada to acquire 51% of the bank. In 2018, Fairfax India (via FIH Mauritius Investments Ltd) acquired the bank’s equity for Rs 1,180 crore.

The bank has been doing extremely well in its financial performance. During the last 13 years, its revenues have almost trebled from Rs 1,545 crore in fiscal 2015 to Rs 4,505 crore in fiscal 2026, with net profit skyrocketing from a negative Rs 53 crore to a positive Rs 633 crore. During the last 5 years, while compounded sales growth has been 19%, the profit CAGR has reached 24%. Return on equity (ROE) works out to 16%.

This follows the impressive growth in the bank’s business, with total deposits growing by 26% YOY to reach Rs 45,415 crore in Q1FY27 and gross advances rising 24% YOY to Rs 40,866 crore for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. What is more, prospects for the bank going ahead are all the more encouraging. Consider:

KEY MOVES

There are five trends shaping CSB Bank which will quicken its pace of growth:

A) Gold loans remain the principal growth engine. Gold-based lending is the bank’s strongest competitive segment. It provides collateral-backed, relatively quick loan processing and an established customer base. Gold loans account for approximately 53% of its loan portfolio (March 2026). This concentration can support growth. The pace of growth has gained momentum this year with gold loans surging 36% YOY to Rs 22,301 crore in Q1 of this year.

B) Diversification strategy: The bank management is actively balancing growth across the retail, SME and wholesale banking segments to reduce dependence on gold loans, especially in a time of price and geopolitical volatility.

C) Digital Transformation: CSB has implemented an upgraded core banking platform and modernised its technology infrastructure. Better digital onboarding, faster credit decisions, and more efficient servicing will help it scale without a proportional increase in costs.

D) CSB is seeking to widen its geographical reach. According to CRISIL, the bank has added 35 branches outside Kerala during fiscal 2026. This creates access to new customers and markets.

E) Capital strength and foreign investor backing: Fairfax of Canada through FIH Mauritius Investments held a 40% stake as of March 2026. This has led to a tier-1 capital ratio of 18.93% and total capital adequacy ratio of 20.66%. These ratios provide a buffer for expansion.

STRATEGY SHIFT

According to experts, the longer-term opportunity for the bank lies in emerging as a more diversified private sector lender rather than remaining predominantly a gold-loan specialist. The current management of the bank has outlined a strategic portfolio mix for fiscal 2030 of approximately 30% of retail, 30% wholesale, 20% gold loans, and 20% MSME.

Even in a stock market hit hard by growing geopolitical tensions globally, the stock price at Rs 310 for a face value of Rs 10 is maintained well. Prospects ahead are highly encouraging as its capital adequacy and quality of assets are robust. While the capital adequacy ratio is of 20.66 per cent, the net NPA (non-performing assets) are very low at 0.40%.

The bank has established a name of its gold loan expertise. What is more, the gold advance portfolio remains a major growth engine, surging 36% YOY. The bank’s business is expanding rapidly with strong growth in deposit mobilisation and advances. There is a possibility of improved profitability as technology and branch investments mature. Many research analysts believe that as and when the West Asia war comes to an end, the CSB Bank stock price could shoot up to cross the Rs 500 mark.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (Rs. in crore)