HUL joins trillion-rupee club, stock hits new high

Races ahead of Wipro, ICICI Bank and HDFC ranking by market capitalisation

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), currently trading higher by 2% at Rs 456 levels, has joined the elite club of Indian companies with market capitalisation of over Rs 1-lakh crore.

With this surge, the market capitalsation of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company now stands at Rs 101,198 crore, ahead of Wipro, ICICI Bank and HDFC. HUL currently stands at the eleventh position after Bharti Airtel.

HUL has outperformed the market by rising almost 10% since the announcement of Q4 earnings on April 30, as compared to 2.4% drop in the benchmark Sensex

The company’s profit before interest and tax (PBIT) grew by 32% with PBIT margin improving 170 bps for the quarter ended March 2012. Profit after tax (PAT) but before exceptional items, grew by 29% to Rs 664 crore, while net Profit at Rs 687 crore grew 21% during the quarter.

The company’s performance through the year has been consistent, with broad based growth ahead of the market, driven by a relentless focus on innovation and in-market execution.

“In a year of competitive intensity and high volatility, a sharp focus on cost management helped the business to continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities while delivering an improvement in margins,” Harish Manwani, chairman of HUL had said at time of announcing the Q4 results.

The stock opened at Rs 449 and hit an all-time high of Rs 457 on the National Stock Exchange in trade today. A combined 2.3 million shares have changed hands on the counter so far on both the exchanges.