Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) reported an 11% increase in first-quarter net profit to ₹2,289 crore compared with a year earlier, backed by 19% growth in turnover and volume growth of 6%.
“We continued to grow significantly ahead of the market, gaining value and volume market shares,” said Ritesh Tiwari, executive director, Finance and CFO. “EBITDA margin at 23.2% remained healthy despite unprecedented inflationary headwinds,” he added.
“We continue to manage our business dynamically driving savings harder across all lines of P&L and taking calibrated pricing actions using the principles of Net Revenue Management. We continue to invest competitively behind our brands,” he said.
Considering the inflationary pressure, the company had increased product prices by 12% on an average, top company executives said at a press conference, adding that the pricing pressure would continue in the September quarter as well. The price increase had also led to sales volume declining 5%, they added.
Sanjiv Mehta, CEO and managing director, said, ‘In an environment which remains challenging, marked by unprecedented inflation and consequential impact on consumption, we have delivered yet another quarter of robust top-line and bottom-line performance.”
“We have grown competitively whilst protecting our business model by maintaining margins in a healthy range. While there are near-term concerns around inflation, the recent softening of commodities, forecast of a normal monsoon, and monetary/ fiscal measures taken by the government augur well for the industry,” he said.
During the quarter the company’s home hare business delivered 30% growth driven by strong performance in fabric wash and household care. Both categories grew in high double digits with all parts of the portfolio performing well.
The beauty and personal care business reported a broad-based growth of 17%. The foods and refreshment unit grew 9%, driven by solid performance in the ice-cream, coffee and food solutions segment.
