HUL volume growth is frozen at 5% for 3 quarters in a row⁠— cost savings boost profit by 21%

• FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Friday reported a 12.95% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,631 crore for the third quarter ended December 2019.
• The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,444 crore in the October-December period of the previous fiscal.
• Total expenses stood at Rs 7,849 crore as against Rs 7,900 crore earlier.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Friday reported a 12.95 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,631 crore for the third quarter ended December 2019, helped by improvement in margins and volume growth. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,444 crore in the October-December period of the previous fiscal.

Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 9,953 crore, up 3.87 per cent from Rs 9,582 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) said in a regulatory filing.

"Domestic Consumer Growth was 4 per cent with Underlying Volume Growth at 5 per cent" in the quarter, it said.

"This quarter witnessed an overall challenging market environment, mainly reflecting a sharp slowdown in rural and discretionary spends. In this tough environment, HUL has delivered a resilient performance which is reflective of the strength of our brands, consistency in strategy and execution prowess," HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta said.

"Our continued focus on innovation and market development has helped sustain underlying volume growth at a steady 5 per cent. We have also delivered a healthy margin improvement," he added.

Total expenses stood at Rs 7,849 crore as against Rs 7,900 crore earlier.

Shares of HUL on Friday settled at Rs 2,034.15 apiece on the BSE, down 1.18 per cent from the previous close.

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