HUL net profit rises 21.7% to Rs 689 cr

Fast moving consumer goods majorHindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL ) on Monday reported an increase of 21.7 percent innet profit at Rs 689 crore for the quarter ended September 30 as against Rs 566crore during the like period of the previous financial year.

The total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs5,688.15 crore, up 17.49 percent as against Rs 4,841.49 crore during the likeperiod of the previous fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.

According to the company during the quarter under review,domestic consumer business grew at 18.5 percent with strong underlying volumegrowth of 9.8 percent.

"Against the backdrop of a challenging environment, wehave delivered one of our strongest quarters with topline growth well ahead ofthe market and improved operating margins," said Harish Manwani, HULchairman .

"We will continue to leverage consumer insights todeliver winning innovations and maintain relentless focus on execution, costmanagement and building organizational capabilities for competitiveadvantage," he added.

All segments delivered double-digit growth with soaps anddetergents reporting a growth of 21.8 percent. The personal products segmentgrew by 18.2 percent while beverages and packaged foods grew by 14.6 percent20.9 percent, respectively.

According to the company, distribution across modernelectronic retail chains is being scaled up and "go to market"integration is expected to be completed by the year-end.

The company also said that inflation and commodity costscontinued to be high during the quarter while it managed cost pressures throughaggressive savings programmes coupled with judicious pricing.

"Cost of goods sold is up by 340 basis points due tohigh input costs, especially in soaps and detergents," said the company.