Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
hindustan Unilever limited

KOLKATA: On Thursday, one of India’s leading FMCG company, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) reported a decline of 3.43% Year-on-Year, in the consolidated net profit of the March-end quarter of the last financial year. This quarterly profit itself amounted to ₹1,520 Crore compared to ₹1,574 Crore in the same quarter of FY2018-19.

The net revenue for the last quarter however was worth ₹9,055 Crore. It is a significant fall compared to the revenue of ₹10,018 Crore in Q4 of FY18.

In a post-earnings call, HUL explained that the Coronavirus pandemic majorly impacted the business from mid-March. This, it said, culminated into the scaling down of operations after the nationwide lockdown came in to effect.

Domestic consumer growth of the company declined 9%, with a decline of 7% in underlying volume growth. Moreover, the reported Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) margin fell by 40 basis points (100 basis points = 1%) for the quarter.On a before-tax metric, the profit fell by 1% worth ₹1,519 Crore.

Chairman and Managing Director, Sanjiv Mehta, said, “COVID-19 is perhaps the biggest challenge for us, both from the lens of sustaining lives, as well as livelihoods. The human impact of the pandemic is uncertain, and we are fully committed to working with the government and our partners to ensure that we overcome this crisis together.”

The CEO talked about the upcoming deals for HUL and the special measures they are taking to fulfil consumer needs. The company is currently operating at a reduced 70%, in light of the crisis. However, they espoused optimism about targets for the upcoming months.

“Our portfolio of trusted brands, financial stability and quality of leadership teams positions us well to deal with the crisis and for the changing world that will come afterwards. With the GSK CH merger effective from April 1, iconic brands such as Horlicks and Boost will now enable us to also address the nutrition needs of consumers. Our approach will be to protect our business model, grow competitively and contribute to the nation,” Mehta added.

Hindustan Unilever said it has ramped up its inventory of key categories such as sanitizers and handwash. “We are also operating with shorter planning cycles, stepping up agility and building resilience in the supply chain,” it said.

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