By Praveen Paramasivam and Mayank Bhardwaj
April 29 (Reuters) - Indian consumer goods firm AWL Agri Business AWLA.NS, formerly known as Adani Wilmar, raised its forecast for fiscal 2026 sales volumes, expecting growth to surpass 10%, as it bets on the boom in 10-minute delivery platforms and softer food prices.
Inflation slipped to a more-than-five-year low in March, even as Indians wrestle with high living costs, with food prices moderating from eye-watering levels last year.
"Overall food basket inflation worry is not there. Consumption will happen because prices are affordable now," CEO Angshu Mallick told Reuters on Tuesday.
He added that sales volumes in AWL's edible oil business, its biggest, are expected to increase by 7%-10% this fiscal year, which started on April 1. This, coupled with the food business, is expected to push the group's growth over the 10% mark.
The 'Fortune' oil maker also plans to increase the number of stores it serves directly by 12%-15% to almost 1 million outlets from 860,000 currently.
The upbeat forecast comes weeks after the company changed its name from Adani Wilmar following Adani Group's exit from a joint venture by selling its stake to Singapore's Wilmar International WLIL.NS.
In February, Mallick told Reuters AWL would return to sales volume growth of about 10% this fiscal, led by tax relief measures and growth on delivery apps.
India's 10-minute delivery platforms, including Swiggy's SWIG.NS Instamart, Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit and Zepto, have helped consumer goods makers grow in Indian cities.
The quick-delivery sector accounted for over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders last year, with its market share growing about five times to $6 billion-$7 billion from 2022.
Separately, Mallick also said India should widen the import tariff differential between crude and refined oil, particularly palm oil, to support domestic refining capacity.
"If somebody imports refined oil directly, processors have to live with the lower production, higher cost, and then, obviously, the business is not so viable," he added.
On Monday, AWL's quarterly consolidated net profit jumped nearly 22% to 1.9 billion rupees ($22.4 million).
($1 = 84.9770 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; +91 867-525-3569;))
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