Hindustan Unilever's (HUL) sales grew by 14.4 per cent on year-on-year basis to Rs 5,579 crore in the quarter ended June. Volume growth was lower than expectations at 8.6 per cent. Notably, the company had registered double digit volume growth in the last 5 consecutive quarters.
Price rise of six per cent aided the top-line growth in the June quarter. HUL's scrip ended the day at Rs 322.7 on Thursday, down 0.98 per cent compared to its previous close.
The company's net profit stood at Rs 627 crore and was up by 17.6 per cent over the same quarter of last financial year. This growth was driven by a three-fold surge in exceptional gains of Rs 51 crore from sale of properties in Jaipur. Excluding the one-offs, the net profit was up 11 per cent to Rs 578 crore, broadly meeting analysts' expectations.
The rising prices of its key raw materials like palm oil, crude oil among others impacted its operating margins for the quarter. The raw material costs were up by 26 per cent and resulted in a 45-basis points contraction in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin to 13.5 per cent.
