Aggarwal pointed out that the sector has already seen a sharp re-rating in the past three years, with EV/EBITDA multiples moving from 15–18 times to above 30 times. While valuations are no longer cheap, he expects steady 15–17% CAGR returns over the next two years. He highlighted Apollo Hospitals and Fortis as attractive picks in the current scenario, especially with the ongoing consolidation for IHH in Fortis.
On the FMCG side, Marico’s second-quarter update reflected steady performance. “Marico shows very steady trends whether it is Parachute where they have done well or the new-age businesses,” Aggarwal said. He noted that even the value-added hair oil segment, which had been under pressure, is showing signs of revival. However, he flagged modest profitability growth due to rising copra prices and GST-related inventory adjustments. Despite this, he believes Marico remains a “very steady stock and should do well over the medium term.”
In contrast, Avenue Supermarts’ update disappointed the street. Aggarwal admitted, “we were actually expecting a couple of percentage points more growth rate because we had early festival season this year,” but added that floods, heavy rains, and GST-related disruptions may have dampened sales. Still, he believes the worst of the margin correction is over, and competition from quick commerce is emerging as a key factor in top cities.
He also cautioned that the current wave of large primary issuances—such as those from LG and Tata Capital—could temporarily sap liquidity from the secondary market. “A lot of money is actually going into the new stocks and that is where there has been some sort of an issue in the overall listed market,” he said, while expecting strong subscription demand, particularly for LG.
Overall, Aggarwal sees healthcare stocks continuing steady growth, FMCG delivering stable performance despite margin pressures, and retail facing short-term headwinds from competition and liquidity shifts.
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