FMCG major Hindustan Unilever on Tuesday reported an 8.58 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to ₹1,974 crore for the quarter ended on September 30, 2020.

The company had posted a net profit of ₹1,818 crore in the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal.

Its sales during the quarter under review stood at ₹11,510 crore, up 15.89 per cent compared to ₹9,931 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a regulatory filing.

Commenting on the results, HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta said, “In the context of a challenging economic environment, our growth has been competitive and profitable. We continue to demonstrate execution prowess, agility, adaptability, resilience, and passion of our people.

HUL has expanded its portfolio with consumer-relevant innovations and have invested strongly behind brands.

“Our operations and service levels are now back to pre-Covid levels and we have accelerated the pace of digitising our operations under the ‘Re-imagine HUL’ agenda,” he said.

Mehta further said rural markets have been resilient but the demand in urban India, especially in metropolitan cities, has been muted.

“We believe that the worst is behind us and we are cautiously optimistic on-demand recovery,” he said.

HUL’s total expenses were at ₹9,054 crore in July-September 2020-21 as against ₹7,885 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of HUL on Tuesday were trading at ₹2,159.85 on BSE, down 0.87 per cent from the previous close.

comment COMMENT NOW