Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has reported an 8 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 988 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2014 as compared to Rs 913 crore in the year ago period. It was impacted by the increase in the effective tax rate.

The net sales of the consumer goods major stood at Rs 7,465 crore in the same quarter, up by 9.6 per cent, as compared to Rs 6,747 crore last fiscal.

During the quarter, the domestic consumer business grew at 10 per cent ahead of market, with 5 per cent underlying volume growth.

The result was a tad below the street expectation which had forecast a 10-11 per cent sales growth and 9 per cent profit growth on the back of improved consumer sentiment.

Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL, said: “In a low growth environment, our emphasis on market development and innovations have helped deliver another quarter of double digit growth and a healthy improvement in operating margins. The consistency of our performance is a reflection of the discipline and rigour with which we are executing our strategy. We will continue to manage our business dynamically for sustained competitive and profitable growth.”

Segment-wise breakup

Soaps and detergents posted a double digit growth. In Laundry, the performance was led by the premium segment as Surf sustained its strong momentum and Rin growth further accelerated. Wheel growth continued to step-up since its re-launch at the end of last year.

Household Care growth was driven by Vim, with the liquids portfolio doing very well.

In Skin Care, Fair and Lovely and Pond’s delivered volume led double digit growth. Fair and Lovely continued to build momentum post its re-launch in SQ’13 while Pond’s growth was led by premium skin lightening and talc. The facial cleansing portfolio sustained high growth.

Hair Care registered another quarter of volume led double digit growth, driven by the robust performance of Dove and Clinic Plus. TRESemmé added a new Spa Rejuvenation variant and continued to make very good progress.

Oral Care had a subdued quarter largely due to a strong comparator arising from the re-launch of Pepsodent in the base quarter. Colour cosmetics delivered its tenth successive quarter of innovation led double digit growth with Lakme continuing to strengthen its position in premium make up through exciting and contemporary innovations.

The operating environment remained challenging with low market growth across categories. Brand investments were sustained at competitive levels across segments, albeit lower than an exceptionally high base quarter. The impact of input cost inflation continued to be felt this quarter through higher consumption costs although commodities softened towards the end of the quarter, the company said in a statement here.

The board of directors has declared an interim dividend of Rs 6.0 per equity share of face value Re. 1 each, for the year ended March 31, 2015.

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