Hindustan Unilever Q3 profit falls 22 percent

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's largest consumer goods firm, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, said on Friday its profit slumped 22 percent, missing analysts' estimates, as weak demand in rural India continued to hurt sales.

The Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever reported October-December earnings of 9.71 billion rupees, well below the 12.52 billion rupees posted during the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected 10.56 billion rupees.

HUL, which is seen as a barometer of Indian consumer sentiment, has been forced to cut prices on key products in recent months, as households have been squeezed because of a weak monsoon and rising food prices.

 

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in Mumbai; Editing by Sunil Nair)