UPDATE 1-Dabur acquires Turkey cos, eyes 19 pct FY11 margin

* Net up 17 percent on volume growth, price hike

* Doesn't rule out price hike in July-Sept

NEW DELHI, July 26 (Reuters) - Personal care and food products maker Dabur India Ltd (DABU.BO) said on Monday it acquired three personal care products firms of Turkey's Hobi Kozmetik Group for $69 million, boosting its presence in the international markets.

"Hobi's brands complement Dabur's portfolio, categories, offering us a strong platform to enter newer product categories and markets," chief executive Sunil Duggal said in a statement. International business contributes a fifth of total sales.

Hobi is a market leader in the hair gel category with a 35 percent share in Turkey, and markets a range of hair care and skin care products under the 'Hobby' and 'New Era' brands, Dabur said in a statement.

Indian consumer firms have been looking overseas to boost their topline as well as offsetting margin pressures due to rising costs and competition at home.

Dabur was looking at selectively introducing Hobi's brands and products in India, Duggal said, adding Dabur will use its distribution network to introduce and strengthen Hobi's products in the middle-east and Africa.

Dabur also said its board had approved a 1-for-1 bonus issue.

NET UP, MONSOON KEY

The company said April-June consolidated profit rose 17 percent to 1.06 billion rupees on strong volume growth and price hike, but inflation eroded its margin by 20 bps to 16.5 percent. Sales rose 23.4 percent to 9.16 billion rupees.

"We can't rule out price hike in the second quarter," Duggal said, adding it would depend on how inflation moves although prices of some key commodities such as edible oil have come down.

Dabur expects to maintain a margin of 19 percent in 2010/11, same as the last fiscal, Duggal said.

"If monsoon doesn't recover, there will be demand erosion in rural areas," Duggal said. A good monsoon means better harvest for farmers and higher consumption in rural areas, which make up half of Dabur's domestic market.

India's weather office expects total June-September rainfall to be normal, although so far a 9 percent shortfall in monsoon rains has been recorded. [nSGE66P05X]

Shares in Dabur India, which the market values at $3.9 billion, fell 3.73 percent to 203.70 rupees, while the broader benchmark index (.BSESN) fell 0.61 percent on Monday.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Choudhary; Editing by Sunil Nair)