FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Tuesday reported an 8.9 percent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 2,187 crore for the quarter ended September 30, meeting Street estimates.

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Hindustan Unilever reported revenue of Rs 12,724 crore for the second quarter of the current financial year, up 11.2 percent on year.

HUL reported revenue of Rs 12,724 crore for the second quarter of the current financial year, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Analysts in a CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted the company's profit at Rs 2,175 crore over revenue of Rs 12,570 crore.

Revenue from the home care segment increased 15.7 percent to Rs 3,838 crore, and that from the beauty and personal care business rose 9.3 percent to Rs 5,000 crore. Revenue from the foods and refreshment unit came in at Rs 3,622 crore in the July-September period, as against Rs 3,379 crore a year ago.

HUL reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and ammortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 3,132 crore, as against analysts' expectation of Rs 3,085 crore.

Its EBITDA margin came in at 24.6 percent in Q2, as against 24 percent in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts had estimated the margin at 24.5 percent.

The company witnessed sequential improvement in trading conditions in the July-September period, though the environment remained challenging with unprecedented levels of input cost inflation and subdued consumer

sentiments, said Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director, HUL.

"In this backdrop, we have delivered a strong performance growing topline in double digits and stepping up profitability sequentially. Large parts of our business continue to gain market shares and penetration. Calibrated price

increases and laser sharp focus on savings has helped us protect our business model while ensuring the right price-value equation for our consumers," he said.

Mehta also said the company remains cautiously optimistic about demand recovery going forward.

The company's board declared an interim dividend of Rs 15 per share for current financial year.

Hindustan Unilever shares erased the day's gains after the earnings announcement. The HUL stock ended 4.1 percent lower at Rs 2,546.5 apiece on BSE, having risen to as high as Rs 2,732 earlier in the day.

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(Edited by : Sandeep Singh)

First Published:Oct 19, 2021 2:26 PM IST