Hindustan Unilever net profits dips despite higher sales

Hindustan Unilever Ltd's December quarter net profit fell nearly 2.5 per cent after it wrote down the value of investments and loans to a subsidiary. While the overall profits were on sustainable level the net profit has shown a dip due to the extraordinary expenses that have been accounted for in this quarter

The company wrote down Rs165 crore in the quarter on the value of advances to a unit and a decline in the value of its investments. Gains from the sale of properties also fell 88 per cent from a year earlier to Rs88 crore in the quarter.

Exceptional items include profit on sale of properties Rs88.5 crore, which was valued at Rs758.2 crore earlier, gain / charge on account of changes in actuarial assumptions in valuation of long term employee benefits, restructuring costs (including amount payable in an industrial dispute principally for a closed undertaking) of Rs406.4 crore.

Net sales of the company during the quarter went up to Rs4,307.71 crore from Rs3,687.4 crore a year ago.

Input cost inflation has started receding and if sustained, will reflect in lower consuming cost. However, impact of high input cost inflation continued in this quarter.

Year -to-date investment behind brands continues at 10.1 per cent of turnover, growing at 16 per cent. Spends during the quarter remain competitive, although marginally lower by 1.3 per cent over same period last year.