HUL’s revenues were expected to grow 19 per cent on-year to Rs 11,647.8 crore, while its net profits were seen rising 28.4 per cent to Rs 2,075.2 crore, according to estimates from 12 brokerages polled by ETMarkets.com.
The FMCG company reported a turnover growth of 20 per cent from the year-ago quarter, while its domestic volume growth—excluding the contribution of GSK Consumer products—jumped 7 per cent. Analysts had expected the company to report organic volume growth of 3-5 per cent in the December quarter.
“Higher mobility, consumer relevant innovations and investments behind market development are driving business momentum. Our business fundamentals remain strong with 86% of our business gaining penetration,” the company said in an earnings statement.
The company’s operating margin for the quarter stood at 24 per cent, which was 90 basis points lower than the year-ago quarter, reflecting the impact of higher input costs. Analysts had expected the company to report margins of 24.3-25.0 per cent.
“The near-term demand outlook is improving, and we expect to see revival in urban while rural should continue to do well. Inflationary pressures are building up in select commodities and we will manage them judiciously,” said Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director at HUL.
The soap-to-shampoo company said that its homecare products operations grew in double-digits in the December quarter, while its beauty and personal care segment clocked 9 per cent on-year rise in revenues.
Foods & refreshment sustained the high growth momentum growing at 19%. Our nutrition business, too, grew in double-digits as business returned to normalcy post restoration of disrupted supply lines, the company said.
“We have seen significant improvement in discretionary categories,” the company said. The improvement in discretionary product demand bodes well as HUL’s premium products segment struggled the most during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
