Hindustan Unilever spent Rs 1,024 crore on advertising and promotions in the April-June quarter

• HUL's Q1 standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 30 saw a 9.5% jump at Rs 2,061 crore.
• Its advertising and promotions spends stood at Rs 1,024 crore from Rs 797 crore for the same quarter last year.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) spent Rs 1,024 crore on advertising and promotions in the quarter ending June 30, a substantial increase from Rs 797 crore in the same quarter last year, according to its standalone results for the quarter.

Despite the impact of the challenging second wave of COVID-19 in the country, HUL's Domestic Consumer segment witnessed a growth of 12%, Underlying Volume Growth of 9% and Profit after tax growth of 10%. "Performance was broad based with all 3 divisions growing competitively and in double-digits. Our business fundamentals remain strong with a large part of our business gaining penetration," revealed the organization in its quarterly results.

Here are the highlights from its results:

Home Care:
Home Care grew at 12% enabled by double-digit growth in Fabric Wash. Household care continued to perform well growing in high double-digits on a strong base. Liquids and Fabric Sensations continue to outperform benefitting from robust market development initiatives. We have taken calibrated price increase across fabric wash and household care portfolio to partly offset the high inflation in input costs. ‘Surf Excel’ extended its Matic range with the launch of 3 in 1 Smart Shots, a unique three chambers smart technology to provide advanced stain removal, long-lasting fragrance and care for fabrics.

Beauty & Personal Care:
Beauty & Personal Care grew 13% led by Hair Care and Skin Care, both growing in high double-digits. Contextual communications in Hair Care continue to yield good results. Skin Cleansing continued its strong momentum, soaps grew on a high base and premium segment performed well. Hand Hygiene portfolio declined against an exceptionally high base. ‘VWash’ had another strong quarter. A calibrated approach towards price increase has helped protect our business model as vegetable oil prices remain at elevated levels. Color Cosmetics recovered sharply from a weak base in JQ’20 although performance in the quarter was impacted by limited mobility. During this quarter we launched, ‘Pepsodent’ mouthwash that fights Coronavirus, new moisturizing gels and body lotions in ‘Vaseline’ and ‘Lakme Lip Crayons’.

Foods & Refreshment:
Foods & Refreshment delivered another quarter of strong performance and grew at 12%. All our Tea brands continue to grow in high double-digits despite a very strong base in the prior year. Ketchups and Soups continue to perform well led by strong volume growth on a high base in JQ’20. Go-To-Market integration in Nutrition business is progressing well, Health Food Drinks gained penetration sequentially and grew volumes in mid-single digit. Ice Creams recovered and grew YoY from a weak base, although performance in the quarter was impacted by limited mobility. In partnership with Mondelez International, we have launched ‘Kwality Wall’s Cadbury Crackle’ frozen desert.

Operating margins:
EBITDA margins at 24% remain healthy. Profit after tax at Rs. 2,061 Crores increased by 10%. We continue to invest behind our brands and portfolio, and in future-fit capabilities. Our focused actions on net revenue management and savings have enabled us to manage inflationary pressures and deliver a healthy bottom-line performance.

Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director commented, "In a challenging environment, we have delivered a strong performance across topline and bottomline. Our performance in the quarter has been resilient and is reflective of our capabilities, the agility in our operations and the intrinsic strength of our portfolio. The second wave of COVID-19 brought upon us a severe humanitarian crisis. We launched ‘Mission HO2PE’ to support the nation during this difficult period and have provided oxygen concentrators, facilitated upgradation of medical infrastructure, and are supporting vaccination of not only our employees and their dependents but also people in our extended value chain.

Looking forward, we remain cautiously optimistic about the demand recovery. Our focus firmly remains behind delivering volume led competitive growth and margins in a healthy range."