FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Wednesday reported a 5.34 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,307 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022 despite flat volume growth due to unprecedented inflation.
Moreover, HUL has now become a Rs 50,000 crore turnover company and also the first pure FMCG firm to achieve this milestone. The company now has 16 brands with a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore each.
"While Dove, Vim and Rin have joined the Rs 2,000 crore club," said HUL CFO Ritesh Tiwari in a post-results call with media.
HUL had posted a net profit of Rs 2,190 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous fiscal.
Its revenue from sales of products during the quarter under review stood at Rs 13,468 crore, up 10.21 per cent, as against Rs 12,220 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a regulatory filing.
"During the quarter, our turnover grew 10 per cent with flat underlying volume growth. We continued to grow significantly ahead of the market, gaining value and volume market shares," said HUL in the earning statement.
HUL’s EBITDA margin was at 24.6 per cent with a marginal decline of 20 bps year-on-year, said Tiwari, adding this remained healthy despite very high inflationary headwinds.
"In the context of unprecedented inflation, 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," the company said.
HUL's total expenses were at Rs 10,782 crore, up 11.53 per cent in Q4/FY2021-22 as against Rs 9,667 crore.
For the fiscal year ended March 2022, HUL's consolidated net profit was up 11.16 per cent to Rs 8,892 crore. It had reported a net profit of Rs 7,999 crore in the previous year.
Its revenue from operations was Rs 51,472 crore in 2021-22. This is 11.24 per cent higher than Rs 46,269 crore in the same period a year ago.
During the January-March quarter, HUL’s revenue from the home care segment was up 23.57 per cent to Rs 4,743 crore led by a strong performance in Fabric Wash and Household Care. It was at Rs 3,838 crore in Q4/FY 2020-21.
"Both categories grew in strong double-digits with all parts of the portfolio performing well. Liquids and Fabric Sensations continued to outperform driven by effective market development actions," it said.
Moreover, calibrated price increases were taken across Fabric Wash and Household Care portfolios to partly offset the significant inflation in input costs, HUL added.
While HUL’s revenue from Beauty & Personal Care was up 3.62 per cent to Rs 4,743 crore as against Rs 4,577 crore in the corresponding quarter.
"Skin Cleansing delivered double-digit growth driven by pricing and led by strong performance in ‘Lux’, ‘Dove’ and ‘Pears’. Hair Care continued its strong competitive performance in the quarter with all brands gaining shares," it said.
While Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics had a muted quarter with the third wave of Covid-19 and high inflation impacting discretionary consumption.
Revenue from Food & Refreshment was up 5.32 per cent to Rs 3,698 crore as against Rs 3,511 crore of the corresponding period, driven by "solid performance" in Beverages, Foods, and Ice-cream.
"Tea continued its robust performance and grew competitively on an exceptionally high base. Health Food Drinks continued to gain market share and penetration on the back of focused market development actions and new communications. Ice Cream had a very strong quarter delivering high double-digit growth, broad-based across brands and formats," it said.
While, its foods segment grew in double-digits led by ketchup, jams, and soups.
HUL's revenue from Others which includes export, consignments etc was up 14.99 per cent to Rs 583 crore as against Rs 507 crore of Q4/FY2020-21.
Commenting on the annual results HUL CEO and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta said: "In challenging circumstances, we have grown competitively and protected our business model by maintaining margins in a healthy range. I am also pleased that we have become a Rs 50,000 crore turnover company in this fiscal.
"Our consistent performance is reflective of our strategic clarity, the strength of our brands, operational excellence, and dynamic financial management of our business. While there are near-term concerns around significant inflation and slowing market growth, we are confident of the medium to long-term prospects of the Indian FMCG sector and remain focused on delivering a Consistent, Competitive, Profitable, and Responsible growth," he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate filing, HUL said its board in a meeting held on Wednesday recommended a final dividend of Rs 19 per share for FY22 on equity shares of Re 1 each. The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of Rs 15 per share on November 12, 2021.
"The total dividend for the said period amounts to Rs 34 per equity share," it added.
Shares of HUL on Wednesday settled at Rs 2,144.25 on BSE, down 0.18 per cent from the previous close.
