Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Thursday posted second quarter profit at Rs 2,656 crore, down 0.3 per cent in comparison to Rs 2,665 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY23, surpassing estimates. It posted total income of Rs 15,806 crore, up 3.6 per cent as against Rs 15,253 crore during the same period last year. According to a CNBC TV18 poll, HUL was expected to post Q2 profit at Rs 2590 crore and revenue at Rs 15,320 crore.
The FMCG major recorded total sales at Rs 15,364 crore. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 3,797 crore and EBITDA margin at 24.7 per cent.
“The reported numbers include a one-off credit from favourable resolution of a past indirect tax litigation. This benefitted reported turnover and PAT growth by 1 per cent and 4 per cent respectively,” HUL said in a regulatory filing.
The company also declared an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share of face value of Re 1 each for the financial year ending 31st March, 2024. “The record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the shareholders for the interim dividend has been fixed as Thursday, 2nd November, 2023, and dividend will be paid to the shareholders on or after Thursday, 16th November, 2023,” the company said in a regulatory filing.
Rohit Jawa, CEO and Managing Director, HUL, said, “We delivered a resilient and competitive growth whilst stepping up our EBITDA margin in a challenging operating environment, marked by subdued rural demand and heightened competitive intensity.”
HUL’s performance across business segments
HUL’s home care segment posted total revenue for the quarter ended September 2023 at Rs 5,308 crore as against Rs 5,142 crore during the same period last year. The company said that its Fabric Wash reported volume growth in mid-single digit driven by outperformance in the premium portfolio. The Household Care category posted high-single digit volume growth led by Dishwash. HUL added that it had taken price reductions in both fabric wash and household care portfolios.
The Beauty & Personal Care business vertical recorded a revenue of Rs 5,873 crore during Q2FY24. In the BPC category, skin cleansing range declined as price cuts offset low-single digit volume growth. Lux and Hamam continued to outperform. HUL said that market development actions in body wash continued to yield good results. While the health care segment posted high single digit growth led by Clinic Plus and Indulekha, skin care and colour cosmetics range posted double-digit growth led by outperformance in Ponds and Vaseline, the oral care category posted mid-single digit growth led by Closeup.
Meanwhile, the Foods & Refreshment segment posted revenue at Rs 3,851 crore. In this segment, tea delivered modest growth as the category continued to witness consumers downgrading and coffee grew in double-digits driven by pricing. Health food drinks delivered price-led mid-single digit growth driven by activations and innovations. Foods grew in mid-single digits on a high base, ice cream recorded mid-single digit growth on a high base.
Looking forward, Rohit Jawa added, “We remain cautiously optimistic. FMCG demand is likely to continue a gradual recovery with tailwinds from the upcoming festive season, sustained buoyancy of services and Government’s thrust on capex. At the same time, we need to be watchful of volatile global commodity prices as well as the impact of monsoon on crop output and reservoir levels. In this context, our focus is to provide superior value to our consumers, drive competitive volume growth, and invest behind our brands. We remain confident of the mid to long term potential of the Indian FMCG sector and HUL’s ability to deliver a Consistent, Competitive, Profitable and Responsible growth.”