Hindustan Unilever beats estimates; profit up 28% at Rs 13.26 bn in Q3

Underlying volume growth came in at 11% for the quarter, ahead of a 6-10% range given by most analysts

The largest consumer goods company in the country, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), reported a nearly 28 per cent year-on-year rise in the October-December 2017-18 quarter (Q3FY18) on Wednesday, putting behind it the challenges of demonetisation and the goods and services tax (GST) roll-out.

In the quarter under review, HUL did gain from a lower base: In the same quarter last year (Q3FY17), its volume growth had declined 4 per cent.

The current performance was also way ahead of Street estimates. Net profit touched Rs 13.26 billion; a Bloomberg consensus estimate was Rs 11.67 billion.

Revenue rose 11.4 per cent to Rs