Rural volume growth continued to outpace that of urban in the December ’24 quarter, packaged consumer goods maker Dabur India said in a quarterly business update on Friday. The company, which derives 48% of its sales from rural markets, said in a stock exchange filing that it expects operating profit growth to remain flat on a year-on-year basis for the quarter ended December 31, on account of inflationary pressures.The maker of Vatika shampoo and Real juices said it expects low single digit consolidated revenue growth in Q3. However, it said that going forward, it anticipated FMCG growth to improve sequentially, adding that it intended to focus on enhancing its market share within the portfolio.During the quarter, rural consumption remained resilient and continued to grow faster than the urban markets, Dabur said in the update. The company added that while general trade was still under pressure, alternative channels like modern trade, e-commerce, and quick commerce continued to post strong growth.Citing inflationary trends, Dabur said it witnessed continued inflation in some of its business segments, which it mitigated partially through price increases and cost-efficiencies.This will be the fourth consecutive quarter when rural markets have grown faster than cities across the FMCG sector.The company said its home and personal care business is expected to grow in mid-to-high single digits, while health care may remain flat due to the delayed onset of winter. Beverages’ performance is likely to remain muted, while Hommade condiments and Badshah spices continued to do well during the quarter and may see strong double-digit growth, Dabur said.Volume growth of packaged consumer goods, or number of units sold, had declined sharply in India’s urban markets to 2.8% in July-Sept ’24 from 11% in the corresponding year-ago quarter, as consumers either put off spending or downtraded to lower-priced packs, NielsenIQ had noted in previous quarter update.Rural year-on-year volume growth held steady, in contrast. Sequentially, volume growth in rural markets grew twice as fast as that of cities in the July-Sep quarter, driven by food staples and recovery of small and mid-sized companies, NielsenIQ had noted in its update.Volume growth of packaged food consumption at 3.4% compared to 2.1% in the previous quarter, was fuelled by growth in edible oils, packaged atta and spices, despite increases in prices undertaken by various companies.