HUL Q3 profit jumps 19% YoY to Rs 1,921 crore; revenue rises 20%

HUL had posted a profit of Rs 1,616 crore in the same period last year

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Wednesday posted an 18.87 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,921 crore in the December quarter. The firm had posted a profit of Rs 1,616 crore in the same period last year. 

However, sequentially, the profit figure dipped by 4.30 per cent from Rs 2,009 crore posted at the end of the September quarter.  

The revenue from the sale of products came in at Rs 11,682 crore, up 20.48 per cent YoY and 3.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

Higher mobility, consumer relevant innovations and investments behind market development are driving business momentum, the company said. 

The results were in line with analysts' expectations. Brokerage Phillip Capital had pegged revenue (sales of products) growth of 19 per cent YoY and 2.3 per cent QoQ at Rs 11,539 crore in the December quarter. Meanwhile, ICICI Securities had projected a profit of Rs 1,913.7 crore, up 18.4 per cent YoY from Rs 1,616 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. on QoQ basis, it expected profit to fall by 4.7 per cent. READ MORE

The EBIDTA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) came in at Rs 2,854 crore for the quarter under review, up 16.7 per cent YoY. The figure stood at Rs 2,445 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. EBITDA margins, meanwhile, came in at 24 per cent.

“With Covid cases coming down sharply and increasing mobility, economic activity in the country continues to improve. The rapid rollout of vaccines will give further impetus to economic growth. Our consumer relevant innovations, market development and execution excellence have enabled us to drive broad based growth across our categories in the December quarter," said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director.

"I am particularly pleased with the performance of our Nutrition business and with the recovery in the discretionary segments of our portfolio; these are structurally attractive and offer immense growth potential. The near-term demand outlook is improving, and we expect to see revival in urban while rural should continue to do well. Inflationary pressures are building up in select commodities and we will manage them judiciously. I am confident that we are very well positioned to capture the growth opportunities and accelerate momentum," he added.