On Tuesday, HUL reported 7.1% year on year jump in its june quarter net profit to Rs1881 crore.
Revenues rose 4.4% during the period. Packaged products like tea, coffee played major role in the growth of the company in the covid-19 locdown period.
The maker of Lux and Dove soaps, Surf detergents, Kissan ketchup and Lipton tea had reported a profit of ₹1,755 crore within the year-ago period.
HUL’s June quarter earnings beat estimates.
A Bloomberg poll of 13 analysts had estimated the company’s quarterly revenue at ₹9979.90 crore (13 brokers) and net ₹1721.60 crore (9 brokers).
Domestic consumer growth (excluding impact of merger with GSK CH India) was down 7%, the corporate said.
“In a challenging context of covid-19 disrupting markets and operations, HUL delivered a resilient performance… Health, Hygiene and Nutrition constituting 80% of our portfolio delivered healthy mid-single digit domestic consumer growth. the mixing of GSK-CH’s nutrition business with us was done seamlessly with good performance on both growth and margins,” the corporate said in an earnings release.
HUL’s quarterly earnings are a bellwether for India’s consumption economy.
Sales of its detergents, soaps, packaged tea and shampoos that reach many households help gauge consumer demand which took a beating because the pandemic prompted consumers to disproportionally spend on categories like health and hygiene while postponing beauty and private care spends. Moreover, India’s protracted lockdown caused disruptions for several makers of consumer products.
Standalone segment revenue at the company’s food and refreshment business held strong, posting over 50% growth, while beauty and private care was down 12%. Segment revenue across home care was down too during the quarter.
Among several categories that the corporate operates in, skin cleansing led by Lifebuoy delivered strong double-digit growth across formats as covid-19 drove sales of private hygiene products. “We have significantly stepped up capacities in both hand wash and hand sanitizers to satisfy the buyer needs,” the corporate said.
Moreover, in-home consumption of packaged foods helped foods, tea and occasional deliver strong performance with integer growths.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and director , HUL, said while agility in operations, excellence in execution, and a robust record helped the corporate during a challenging quarter, near-term demand outlook remains uncertain.