FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) today reported a 27.74 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 1,326 crore for the quarter ended December 31 on volume growth and improvement in margins across categories.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,038 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, HUL said in a BSE filing.
Total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 8,742 crore as against Rs 8,400 crore in the year-ago period, up 4 per cent, it added.
"We have delivered another strong performance in the quarter, with broad based growth across categories and further improvement in margins," HUL Chairman Harish Manwani said.
HUL has improved margins in October-December quarter and achieved 11 per cent volume growth.
"Cost of goods sold were lower, on the back of a strong savings program. Advertising and promotion spends were stepped up to support innovations and market development activities," the company said.
Segment wise, the company said home care revenue was down 8.10 per cent to Rs 2,471 crore as against Rs 2,689 crore earlier. It was up in personal care, foods and refreshment segments.
"Laundry saw robust double-digit growth across key brands. Growth in household care was led by a strong performance in Vim. The purifiers business saw the launch of air purifiers under the Pureit brand," the company said.
Its personal care segment was up 2.76 per cent to Rs 4,090 crore in Q3 FY 2017-18 as against Rs 3,980 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, led by key brands like Dove and Pears.
"Growth in skin care was driven by the strong performance of Fair & Lovely. Hair care witnessed broad based volume led growth," said HUL.
HUL's food segment contributed Rs 300 crore, up 7.52 per cent, during the period under review as against Rs 279 crore, led by broad based growth by Kissan in ketchups and jams. Its Knorr brand too had a strong performance in soups.
Its refreshment segment, which includes Brooke Bond Red Label tea, Bru coffee and ice cream and frozen desserts business, reported 7.21 per cent growth to Rs 1,248 crore during the period as against Rs 1,164 crore earlier.
"Tea continues to deliver double-digit growth. Coffee witnessed a strong performance and the growth momentum continued in ice cream and frozen desserts," it said.
HUL's total expenses during the quarter under review stood at Rs 7,036 crore as against Rs 7,067 crore earlier.
On the outlook, Manwani said: "We remain positive about the mid-term outlook of the industry and will continue to invest strongly in our core brands and developing categories of the future".
He, however, said there were early signs of commodity cost inflation and the company would further sharpen its focus on cost effectiveness programmes and manage business dynamically for competitiveness and sustained profitability.
On the profiteering notice issued by the government for allegedly not passing on price cut benefits to consumers post GST reduction from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, HUL said it was not possible to pass on the entire benefit of this rate reduction on some of the pipeline stocks during the transition.
"An estimated value of Rs 119 crore was proactively disclosed to the CBEC on this count and we have offered to pay this amount suo motu to the government. This amount is not recognised as revenue and is accounted as a liability as on December 31, 2017," the company said.
Shares of the company today settled at Rs 1,371.85 on BSE, down 0.68 per cent from the previous closing.
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