Disappointing Q4, price war drag down HLL

DALAL STREET SPIKES

HLL continued to witness selling pressure as the scrip skid to a seven-and-a-half month low in Tuesday's trading.

The stock lost further ground following the company's disappointing fourth quarter results and the recently announced price war in the detergent segment.

The stock hit a low of Rs 152.60 before closing at Rs 154, down Rs 2 from its previous close.

More than 16.56 lakh shares changed hands at this counter on the BSE alone. Analysts said, a portfolio shift is happening in the FMCG sector with funds shifting to other stocks like ITC.

Since the announcement of the fourth quarter results, the stock has gone down from the Rs 199 levels to today's close of Rs 154, down nearly 29 per cent.

For the quarter ended 31 December 2003, HLL posted a 2.94 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 494.72 crore on a total income of Rs 2,684.53 crore.