Unilever spells out strategy behind the first quarter volume growth

Hindustan Unilever's chief financial officer, Ritesh Tiwari, also said while talking about advertising spend, that the company continued to invest competitively in its brands

Unilever consolidated its share gains achieved over the last three years in India to post a volume growth of 3.8 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2024-25, Fernando Fernandez, chief financial officer at Unilever told investors after announcing its earnings for the first quarter.

Referring to the sequential improvement the company is witnessing in the country, Fernandez said, “We see some increase in the level of competitive marketing spending, particularly in markets like US and India, and this can demand a higher BMI (brand marketing investment) in the next future.”

Hindustan Unilever’s chief financial officer Ritesh Tiwari also said, while pointing to advertising spend, that the company continued to invest competitively in its brands.

Fernandez also told investors, “The increase in operating profit was more than offset by a higher seasonal outflow in working capital, a step up in capital expenditure, and higher income tax paid against the prior year comparator that benefited from some refunds in India.”

On acquisition, Hein Schumacher, CEO at Unilever, said that if the right opportunities come along in markets which are important to the company like India, the firm would take a hard look at it.

“It should be strategically in the categories in which we play or in the channels in which we play, should be capable of scale-up and should be in the geographies where we put our priority,” Schumacher said.

Fernandez also added that the company continues to see emerging markets as a key pillar of our strategy.

“When you look at population growth, when you look at the emergence of the middle class, when you look at rapid urbanisation they are all there, and we continue to be very optimistic about our prospects in emerging markets where we have very, very strong positions in all the biggest markets. I feel in 16 of the top 20 world fastest-growing economies, Unilever is a leading player,” Fernandez said.