One-time gain helps HUL up net 32%

Aided by a one-time gain of Rs 40 crore, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, reported a 32 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended September 30. It stood at Rs 566.1 crore for the quarter, as against Rs 428.5 crore for the period last year.

The one-time gain comprised asset sales of Rs 26 crore and sale of investments at Rs 20 crore, less restucturing costs and provision for expenses related to buyback of shares at Rs 3 crore each.

R Sridhar, chief financial officer, said what perked the gain was a reduction in restructuring cost from Rs 166 crore last year to Rs 3 crore now. “This has been a key contributor to the gain we saw,” he said at the press briefing called to announce the second quarter results. Before exceptional items, profit after tax grew seven per cent to touch Rs 533.7 crore, versus Rs 499.7 crore last year, he said.

Net sales for the quarter were up 11 per cent to touch Rs 4,680.9 crore, versus Rs 4,228.1 crore last year. The growth in net sales, said Sridhar, was underpinned by strong volume growth of 14 per cent, the company’s third quarter of double-digit growth. Since the September quarter of 2009-10, HUL, he said, had seen steady growth volume-wise. From two per cent in the September quarter, volume growth went up to five per cent in the December quarter, staying steady at 11 per cent in the March and June quarters, respectively.