HUL adjusted PAT up 3.6% to Rs 885 crore

After including tax credits and exceptional items, HUL's profit after tax stands at Rs 1,019 crore

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever's (HUL)adjusted PAT rose 3.6% to Rs 885.13 crore in the June quarter. After including tax credits and exceptional items the company's profit after tax stands at Rs 1,019 crore, which is a 23.4% decline over the corresponding quarter last year.

In a bid to prevent skewing the quarterly numbers, the company has given the adjusted PAT figure. The adjusted profit after tax is from ordinary activities before exceptional items, net of tax and prior period tax adjustments. It excluded proceeds from property sale and tax rebate this quarter. Last year's PAT stood at Rs 1,330 crore, as it included proceeds from a property sold by the comapany.

HUL's net sales during the period under review increased by 6.99% to Rs 6,687.49 crore in the quarter under review as against Rs 6,250.15 crore in the corresponding period last year, the company said in a statement.

Total income of the company was at Rs 6,809 crore. EBITDA was at Rs 1,086 crore and the operating margin was at 15.9%.
 The company reported a volume growth of 4% in the quarter.

Explaining the reasons for the decline in net profit, HUL said in the year-ago quarter it had an income of Rs 607.24 crore from exceptional items, which included sale of properties. For the same quarter this year, the credit from exceptional items was at Rs 106.25 crore.

Commenting on the company's performance, HUL Chairman Harish Manwani said: "In a difficult market environment, we have again delivered competitive growth and strong margin expansion through a sustained focus on innovation, in-market execution and robust cost management."

He, however, said that there are near term concerns due to slowing market.

"While there are near term concerns particularly around slowing market growth, we are confident of the medium to long term growth prospects of the FMCG sector and our strategy of driving growth and profitability through innovation and operational excellence," he added.

During the quarter, revenue from soap and detergents increased by 7.33% to Rs 3,407.66 crore, personal products increased by 1.96% to Rs 1,883.38 crore.

HUL CFO R Sridhar said that the discretionary products are under pressure.

"Fair & Lovely sales declined in the quarter but there are clear plans to accelerate growth momentum for Fair & Lovely."

Revenue from beverages grew by 15.79% to Rs 757.37 crore and packaged food increased by 4.78% to Rs 457.88 crore.

Total expenses were at Rs 5,789.88 crore, an increase of 5.84% compared with Rs 5469.95 crore last year.

HUL's advertising and promotions expenses in the quarter increased by 8.56% to Rs 889.78 crore.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 660.75 apiece on the BSE in afternoon, down 3.75% from their previous close.