Comments
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) disappointed, recording just 4 per cent volume growth in the June 2016 quarter over the year-ago period.
Net sales grew by 3.5 per cent to ₹7,988 crore. The lower growth in net sales vis-à-vis volumes indicates a continuation of the trend of price cuts in some segments seen in the last few quarters. Operating margin expanded to 20.1 per cent in the current quarter vis-à-vis 19.2 per cent a year ago.
This was aided partly by benign input costs, a cut in ad spends and sale of premium products.
Aided by the premium brand Surf, the homecare segment saw margin improve to 13.9 per cent as against 12. 1 per cent a year ago. The personal care segment was affected by a deflation in personal wash products (soaps).
Net profit, after adjusting for exceptional items, grew 4.2 per cent. With 45-50 per cent of the demand for HUL coming from rural areas, good monsoon is expected to help demand in the quarters to come.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.