HUL profit up 20 percent, sales volume hurt shares

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, beat market forecasts with a 20 percent increase in quarterly net profit, but its shares fell as much as 5.7 percent as sales volumes disappointed investors.

India's largest manufacturer of household products and consumer goods posted on Friday a net profit of 10.19 billion rupees for the quarter ended March 30, from an adjusted profit of 8.54 billion rupees a year ago. The adjusted profit is a median of estimates from 3 brokerages.

The company had reported an actual net profit of 13.3 billion rupees in the same period a year ago on the back of a one-time gain.

 

Analysts had expected a net profit of 8.7 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine Estimates.

HUL shares were trading 3.7 percent lower at 2:37 p.m.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose; Editing by Miral Fahmy)