ETMarkets Management Talk| EPL’s growth story enters next gear: High-teens guidance, 20% margins and Indovida merger, explains CEO Hemant Bakshi

EPL is entering its next phase of growth after delivering a record 25.3% revenue growth in Q1, with the company now raising its revenue growth guidance to the high-teens for the next few quarters.

Strong momentum in Beauty & Cosmetics, a recovery in Oral Care and the ramp-up of its Thailand operations are expected to support growth, while investments made ahead of the curve could drive operating leverage and help sustain underlying EBITDA margins around 20%.

In this edition of ETMarkets Management Talk, Hemant Bakshi, Global CEO & MD, EPL, discusses the company’s growth roadmap, the strategic rationale behind the Indovida merger, expected $35–50 million synergies, lower leverage and the path towards 25% ROCE over the next three to four years. Edited Excerpts –


Q) You have raised revenue growth guidance to the high-teens for the next few quarters after delivering 25.3% growth in Q1. How much of this growth is already visible in the order book, and what gives you confidence that the momentum can sustain?

A) We have been consistently delivering strong growth, with Q1 marking our fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth, and this quarter we delivered 25.3% growth, our highest-ever top-line growth. Seeing this growth momentum, we have raised our revenue growth guidance to the high-teens for the next few quarters.

A key driver of this momentum is Beauty & Cosmetics, which has continued to perform strongly over the last few quarters. We have added 80+ new B&C customers globally in the recent past, while continuing to deepen our engagement with existing customers. Our investments in extruded tubes, differentiated applicators, premium decoration capabilities and product innovation are also helping us expand our portfolio, enter adjacent categories and unlock new growth opportunities.

We also expect our Thailand operations to ramp up meaningfully. Thailand is a large B&C market, and the ramp-up should provide an additional growth driver for the business.

At the same time, Oral Care has started to recover strongly after several quarters of softer demand and market challenges. Our ability to maintain uninterrupted supply during challenging periods has strengthened customer confidence and helped us capture incremental business and market share. At this stage, we expect to operate in a high-inflationary environment for some time.

Against this backdrop, we have raised our guidance to high-teens for the next few quarters, reflecting our confidence in the underlying momentum of the business.

Q) With the base getting stronger after five consecutive quarters of double-digit revenue growth, do you see any moderation in growth from Q2 onwards, or can EPL continue to deliver double-digit organic growth?

A) We have deliberately invested ahead of the curve to build the capabilities required for our next phase of growth. Over the last few quarters, we have made significant investments across both CAPEX and OPEX.

This includes investments in extruded tubes, applicator tooling, advanced printing and decoration capabilities, as well as strengthening our Innovation Centre of Excellence, Beauty & Cosmetics capabilities and frontline sales organisation.

These investments are not just for the current growth; they are building capabilities that will allow us to serve new customers, enter adjacent categories and capture incremental opportunities as the market evolves.

We have deliberately invested ahead of the curve, and we believe these capabilities will help us sustain the growth momentum going forward.

Q) EBITDA grew 15.2%, slower than the 25.3% revenue growth, while underlying EBITDA margin stood at 19.6%. What are the key levers that can take margins back to or above the 20% level?

A) Our underlying EBITDA margin at 19.6% remains within our target range of 20%, and we remain committed to maintaining our underlying margins in this range.

The margin needs to be viewed in the context of the investments we have made ahead of the growth curve across both CAPEX and OPEX. As these capabilities scale and volumes increase, we expect the benefits of operating leverage to come through.

At the same time, we remain focused on strong cost discipline, including evaluating opportunities to insource higher outsourcing costs and keeping underlying costs firmly under control.

We will continue to invest behind growth while protecting our underlying margins, and on a steady-state basis, we expect EBITDA growth to be faster than revenue growth.

Q) Data suggests that the entire increase in costs was passed on through pricing across regions. How sustainable is this pricing power, particularly if raw material prices or competitive intensity change?

A) The current environment remains challenging, with significant uncertainty and volatility across markets. In this environment, we have been able to pass on the entire cost inflation through higher pricing, while being judicious in how we execute this across customers and geographies.

Over time, we have built strong capabilities to manage these situations, including robust tracking and review mechanisms around cost inflation and recoveries. Our sales teams have also remained closely engaged with customers to ensure consistent supplies even during a volatile period.

Our approach is anchored in a few clear principles — agility, financial discipline, safeguarding customer relationships and continuing to drive long-term value creation. These principles have helped us navigate the current environment effectively, and we believe they will continue to guide us as market conditions evolve.

We are confident that the capabilities we have built over time give our business the strength to navigate volatile and uncertain commodity cycles while protecting our underlying margins.

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Q) EAP was the fastest-growing region at 34.3%, followed by the Americas at 29.4%, while India grew 19.9%. What are the key drivers behind the divergence across geographies, and where do you see the biggest growth opportunity from here?

A) Each region has a different market environment, customer base and category mix, so growth rates will naturally vary. What is encouraging is that the momentum was broad-based, with every geography delivering double-digit growth.

We operate as a portfolio across geographies and categories, so performance will naturally differ across markets. What is important is the strength of the overall portfolio, and we are encouraged by the momentum we are seeing across the business, particularly in Beauty & Cosmetics, while Oral Care is also recovering.

With this broad-based momentum, our overall ambition is to deliver high-teens revenue growth over the next few quarters.

Q) The Indovida merger is expected to create a $1 billion revenue entity with a combined valuation of $2 billion. What are the biggest strategic synergies that you expect from the transaction?

A) The merger brings alive EPL’s vision of becoming a leading consumer packaging platform for emerging markets. It brings together EPL’s leadership in flexible packaging with Indovida’s scale in rigid PET packaging, creating a ~$1 billion platform with greater scale, complementary products and markets, and significant room for growth.

Importantly, the merger expands our addressable market. Tubes are only around 4% of the overall packaging market, while rigid packaging represents around 26%, giving the combined business a much broader platform to participate in packaging.

The combination also gives us a stronger presence across SEA and Africa, while the complementary footprint and portfolios create opportunities for growth synergies, procurement and supply-chain efficiencies. We expect $35–50 million of synergies over the next five years.

Finally, Indovida is net-cash positive, which strengthens the balance sheet and gives the merged entity greater capacity to invest in growth and pursue M&A more aggressively.

Q) With the Indovida merger approaching, how do you expect the transaction to impact EPL’s net debt and leverage ratios? Will the combined entity require any incremental debt funding?

A) The transaction is expected to strengthen our balance sheet rather than increase leverage. Indovida is net-cash positive, and as a result, we expect EPL’s Debt/EBITDA to reduce from around 0.5x currently to approximately 0.25x post transaction.

Importantly, the combined entity will have a stronger cash position and greater financial flexibility to invest in growth and pursue M&A. We therefore do not see a need for incremental debt funding to support the transaction. The stronger balance sheet will also give us greater capacity to pursue M&A opportunities going forward.

Q) With the stock hitting a fresh 52-week high in August 2026, what are the key fundamental milestones over the next 12–18 months that you believe could justify a further re-rating?

A) The key milestones for us are sustaining the growth momentum, maintaining our underlying EBITDA margin around 20% and continuing to improve capital efficiency.

As the business scales and the investments we have made start delivering, we remain focused on improving ROCE, with an ambition to reach 25% over the next three to four years.

The Indovida merger is another important milestone. It will create a broader consumer packaging platform for emerging markets, bringing together complementary products, markets and capabilities, with significant synergy potential. We believe the combined business will provide a stronger platform for growth and value creation.

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