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Statement delivered by the Chairman,Mr. Justin Skala, at the 68thAnnual General Meeting of Colgat

Palmolive (India) Limited held in Mumbai on Friday, July 17, 2009.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Board of Directors and on my own behalf, I extend a very warm and cordial welco

to all of you to the 68th Annual General Meeting of your Company.

It gives me immense pleasure to address you today and present the annual audited accounts for 200

09 not only because the results are excellent but also because the excellence has come in the face

a challenging economic context.

The year that has passed by was a difcult year. The global economy reeled under severe recessio

There was an atmosphere of pessimism and anxiety all around. Businesses and corporations t

world over were in the mode of recovery rather than expansion. In this environment, I am pleased

state that your Company has delivered a very good performance.

Sales for the year increased by 5 per cent to Rs.,695 crore as against Rs.,473 crore duri

2007-08. Toothpaste registered an impressive volume growth of 3 per cent.

The prot after tax for the year grew by 25 per cent to Rs.290 crore as against Rs.232 crore duri

2007-08.

Considering the Companys encouraging nancial results, strong cash ow and positive grow

momentum, your Board declared two interim dividends of Rs.9 and Rs.6 per share aggregating Rs.

per share for the nancial year 2008-09 as against Rs.13 per share during 2007-08.

Your Company ended 2008-09 with an excellent business performance and began 2009-0 w

positive business momentum with a hope that the economy will revive swiftly and the country w

be blessed with a normal monsoon. Your Company will continue to manage its business through

combination of judicious pricing and aggressive cost savings to deliver margin improvements wh

continuing to make commercial investments in its business.

Your Companys continued success is primarily on account of its sharp focus on four clearly den

strategic initiatives, namely, getting closer to consumers, the dental profession and custome

driving innovation across the organization; increasing effectiveness and efciency everywhere a

strengthening leadership. The benets of focusing on these initiatives are clearly reected in t

business results of your Company.

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Let me briey highlight each one of these strategic initiatives.

a) Getting closer to consumers, the dental profession and customers:

Strengthening relationships with consumers, the dental profession and customers is critical t

the continued success of your Companys brands in the marketplace and to generating protabgrowth.

To best reach consumers, both in and out of the store, Colgate uses engaging integrated marketin

communications that include a mix of traditional and new media as well as creative promotiona

activities.

Colgates shopper marketing program, which focuses on in-store behaviour, is another way b

which the Company identies new growth opportunities for itself and its retail partners. With ov

50 per cent of consumer purchase decisions being made in the store, Colgate shopper marketin

program analyzes in-store behaviour of shoppers to convert them into buyers. The researc

showed that shoppers view chemists and druggists as authoritative oral health professionals, wh

inuence 30 per cent of toothbrush purchases in that retail environment. As a result, your Compan

focuses on educating chemists and druggists on the benets of Colgate products and provide

them with specially designed in-store displays to help communicate the message to shoppers

This not only enhances Colgate image as a therapeutic leader but also increases chemist/druggi

recommendations and sales.

Equally important in driving growth is the Companys relationship with the dental professionals. The

endorsements drive trial, long term loyalty and market leadership. Your Company has expanded th

size of its professional sales force that visits dental clinics and is placing a sharper focus on partnerin

with academia and key opinion leaders. Partnering with the dental professionals strengthen

Colgates credibility as an oral care authority and helps grow the Companys market shares.

Another critical component of your Companys business strategy is the alignment of its goals an

strategies with those of its customers. Colgate has developed global commercial selling principle

that apply to its relationships with all customers, regardless of their size or location. These principle

provide specic guidelines on how to achieve business goals while maintaining Colgates commitmen

to its values and to upholding the highest ethical standards in its business dealings. To help ensu

full compliance with the principles, all the Companys commercial personnel have completed th

training either online or in classroom. The principles have been extremely well received.

b) Driving innovation across the organization:

One of the factors instrumental for the Companys success is its sharp focus on innovation acros

the organization from product development to the supply chain to all business functions an

processes.

The Company accelerates innovation by building collaborative partnerships with leading supplier

research institutes and other external experts. In this regard, your Company continues to receiv

excellent support and assistance from Colgate-Palmolive Company. Your Company enjoy

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unrestricted access to the repertoire of Colgates brands, technologies, business processes a

global best practices. Your Company is able to take full advantage of Colgates global sca

particularly in the elds of brand marketing and advertising, global supply chain, procurement

material and leadership development.

c) Increasingeffectivenessandefciencyeverywhere:

Your Company continues to drive effectiveness and efciency across the organization by adopti

several cost-saving measures to deliver protable growth. Some of the cost-saving measur

taken during the year include:

i) Nepalsubsidiary:

Considering the state of political instability, the economic hardships and the deteriorati

law and order situations in Nepal, your Company divested its entire shareholding in Colga

Palmolive (Nepal) Private Limited. Accordingly, your Company ceased its manufacturi

operations at Nepal although it continues to export its products to service the Nepal marke

ii) Hyderabadsubsidiary:

Your Company proposed a tax efcient amalgamation of SS Oral Care Products Priva

Limited with your Company and accordingly, the amalgamation of the subsidiary with yo

Company became nally effective based on the order issued by the Andhra Pradesh Hi

Court on February 24, 2009.

iii) Goa subsidiaries:

The two subsidiaries at Goa also nally amalgamated in terms of the order issued by t

Bombay High Court at Goa on April 27, 2009. This will help the subsidiary avail the benecsynergies of manufacturing operations and signicantly improve the operational efciency

the unied organization.

The toothpaste undertakings at Goa substantially expanded its productive capacity during t

year. Your Companys entire toothpaste requirements is now being met by the Goa and Bad

facilities.

iv) Strengthening leadership:

Your Companys continued success is tightly linked to strengthening the personal leadersh

at all levels of the organization. For Colgate people, leadership entails living the Company

strong global values of Caring, Continuous Improvement and Global Teamwork along w

the principles of Managing with Respect. These values and principles have long been t

foundation of the Companys culture, which values and respects the contributions of all Colga

people and places a high priority on conducting business with the highest ethical standards

Developing the next generation of leaders is an integral part of Colgates business strateg

The Company uses a formal process to identify next-generation leaders early in their caree

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Their career paths are laid out to build an array of required skills and prepare them fo

leadership roles. As their careers progress, they are given broad in-market experience acros

geographies and functions in addition to training that instills Colgates values and culture an

strengthens leadership and functional skills.

We are, therefore, condent that with the quality and potential of our people and by focusinon our clearly dened strategic initiatives, your Company is well equipped to achieve th

business goals set for the year.

Looking ahead, India continues to be one of the most exciting markets in the world. We se

tremendous and continued growth potential here. The year ahead is bound to be yet anothe

full of challenges. Your Company is well positioned to address these challenges through it

experienced management team, dedicated employees and, of course, with the continue

support of the Colgate Global company.

On a nal note, I would like to sincerely thank all my colleagues on the Board for their continue

assistance, support and wise counsel.

I would also like to express my appreciation for the efcient and loyal services rendered by th

Companys employees at all levels. Without their daily efforts and contributions, our succes

would simply not be possible.

I must also express my gratitude to our many business partners, our stockists, distributor

retailers and suppliers for their continued support.

Most importantly, I want to thank you, our shareholders, personally and on behalf of the Boa

for your sustained support and condence in the Management of your Company.

We remain, as always, committed to serving you and we will continue to do our best to delivsuperior value to all stakeholders.

Chairma

Mumbai, July 7, 2009

RegisteredOfce:

Colgate Research CentreMain Street, Hiranandani Gardens

Powai, Mumbai 400 076

(This does not purport to be the proceedings of the Annual General Meeting)