Heritage Foods delivered steady growth in FY26, crossing the Rs. 45,260 million annual revenue milestone with a 9% year-on-year increase, even as the dairy industry faced a challenging operating environment.
The year unfolded under pressure, with widespread milk shortages, a weak flush season, and rising input costs pushing the average landed milk price to Rs 46.7 per liter in Q4—up 8% YoY. Despite these constraints, the company maintained momentum, reporting Q4FY26 revenue of Rs 1,157.6 crore, a 10% YoY rise, consistently staying above the Rs 1100.0 crore mark.
A key driver of this resilience was the strong performance of its value-added products (VAP) segment. VAP revenue grew 18% YoY to Rs. 395.7 crore in Q4 and 13% YoY to Rs 1467.8 crore for FY26. Its contribution increased to 35.5% in Q4FY26 from 32.5% a year earlier, and to 35.3% for the full year compared to 32.0% in FY25. Including consumer-pack fats, the share rose to 41.9% in Q4 and 39.7% annually.
Consumer demand remained robust across categories. Paneer volumes surged 32% YoY in Q4 and 27% in FY26, while ice cream volumes climbed 26% YoY in Q4 and 15% for the year. Curd volumes also grew 11% YoY in Q4 and 7% annually. New product launches such as Livo Yogurts, Alpenvie Ice Cream, and high-protein paneer further strengthened this growth trajectory.
However, profitability reflected the strain of rising costs. EBITDA margins contracted by 311 basis points to 4.5% in Q4FY26, with EBITDA declining 35% YoY to Rs. 52.2 crore. Profit after tax fell 37% YoY to Rs. 23.9 crore. Even so, calibrated pricing actions offered some cushion, with milk realizations rising 4% YoY and VAP realizations improving 7% in Q4 and 9% for the year.
On the supply side, procurement volumes dropped 7% YoY to 16.38 LLPD due to continued constraints, though the company expanded its network. Meanwhile, its subsidiary Heritage Nutrivet stood out, delivering 33% YoY revenue growth to Rs. 2,454 million and a profit before tax of Rs. 206 million.
With eCommerce revenues growing 56% YoY and continued investments in premiumization and distribution, Heritage Foods showed that disciplined execution can sustain growth even in the toughest conditions.
Brahmani Nara, executive director, Heritage Foods, alluded to “the company’s focus on strengthening procurement infrastructure, expanding distribution reach and scaling high-growth categories. With continued investments in premiumization, new capacities and Value-added Products, we remain well positioned to drive sustainable long-term growth as industry conditions gradually normalize.
“Our consumer business continued to deliver healthy momentum led by strong growth across Value-added Products, premium categories and emerging channels. Categories such as curd, paneer, consumer fats and ice-creams recorded strong traction, while qCommerce and fresh distribution scaled rapidly, strengthening market penetration and consumer engagement across key regions. Calibrated pricing actions and improving product mix also supported realization growth during the year.”
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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