Hindustan Unilever Limited on Thursday posted a 3.43 per cent decrease in consolidated net profit to ₹1,520 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020. The performance during the quarter was impacted by disruptions due to the coronavirus.

The FMCG major had posted a consolidated net profit of ₹1,574 crore in the year-ago period.

Due to Covid disruptions, HUL’s domestic consumer growth declined by around 9 per cent during the quarter, with the underlying volume growth declining by 7 per cent. The revenue from operations during the March quarter stood at ₹9,905 crore, a 1.1 per cent decrease from the year-ago period’s ₹10,018 crore.

Full-year profit

Overall domestic consumer growth for FY20 was 2 per cent. Net profit for FY20 was ₹6,764 crore, an 11.6 per cent increase from ₹6,060 crorein FY19.

In terms of sales growth during the March quarter, the home care segment contracted by 4 per cent, the foods and refreshment segment contracted by 7 per cent, while the beauty and personal care segment declined by 14 per cent.

“Covid-19 is perhaps the biggest challenge for us both from the lens of sustaining lives as well as livelihoods. Our portfolio of trusted brands, our financial stability and quality of leadership teams position us well to deal with the crisis and, for the changing world that will come afterwards,” said Sanjiv Mehta, CMD.

Shares of HUL on Thursday settled at ₹2,195.70 on the BSE, down 1.63 per cent from previous close.