The weak monsoon and food inflation have impacted the purchasing power of the lower income group, resulting in marginal growth for the FMCG sector

Personal care products maker Marico Ltd said that it expects to clock a turnover of about Rs2,500 crore for the financial year 2010 that would end on 31st March. This would be around 9% higher than last year’s total revenue of Rs2,388 crore.

“We expect a turnover of Rs2,500 crore in this financial year. The weak monsoon and food inflation have impacted the purchasing power of the lower income group,” said Harsh Mariwala, chairman and managing director, Marico.

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is going through a tough time to hold on to its margins due to food inflation and weak monsoon. However, the company said that it will not increase product prices for the next four months.

Speaking about the impact of hike in excise duties on the FMCG sector, Mr Mariwala said,”Most of the FMCG companies won’t be impacted by the excise duties as they are located in an excise exempt zone like Uttaranchal.”

Other companies that do not fall within the excise exempt zone will have to bear the brunt of new excise duties, he said.

Marico, which is planning to launch new products in the beauty & wellness space, said that it will maintain its advertising spend to drive growth.