HUL Q3 net profit rises 9% to Rs1,444 crore, sales up 10%
18 Jan 2019
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Hindustan Unilever ltd (HUL) reported a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for the October-December 2018-19 quarter at Rs1,444 crore, against Rs1,326 crore posted in the previous year quarter .
Revenue for the quarter rose 11 per cent to Rs9,558 crore against Rs8,590 crore in the comparable quarter of the previous year.
The company reported a volume growth of 10 per cent for the October-December 2018-19 quarter, which is a tad lower than the 11 per cent growth reported in the previous year quarter.
Domestic consumer growth was 13 per cent with underlying volume growth at 10 per cent.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 22 per cent to Rs2,046 crore, against Rs1,680 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Operating margin stood at 21.4 per cent against 19.6 per cent in Q2 FY18. EBITDA margin was up 170 bps while profit after tax (before exceptional items) grew 17 per cent.
The tax expenses for the company rose to Rs 510 crore against Rs 297 crore last year. HUL also reported a one-time loss of Rs 62 crore against Rs 21 crore loss posted last year.
During the quarter, the board of directors approved a scheme of amalgamation between HUL and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSK CH India) subject to shareholder and statutory approvals. The transaction is an all equity merger with 4.39 shares of HUL being allotted for every share in GSK CH India. This transaction values the total business being acquired at Rs31,700 crore.
HUL said its home care division continued its impressive performance with both fabric wash and household care delivering double-digit growth.
HUL said it is realigning its water purifiers portfolio strategy towards premium devices while phasing out the gravity segment.
Beauty and personal care division had a very good quarter with the skin care segment witnessing excellent growth enabled by stellar execution of winter portfolio
HUL’s beverages division delivered good growth by leveraging the opportunity in the mass segment and driving premiumisation through green tea.
“We have delivered another strong performance in the quarter, with double digit volume growth and improvement in margins. Our focus on strengthening the core and leading market development by tapping into emerging trends has been yielding results across categories. We are making headway in ‘Reimagining HUL’ agenda by building an organisation which is purpose led and future fit,” Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of HUL, commented.
“In the near term, demand is likely to be stable. We will keep a close watch on the macro-economic environment and respond with agility. We remain focused on our strategic agenda of delivering consistent, competitive, profitable and responsible growth,” he added.
