HUL Q2: Net Profit Soars 3.86% to Rs 2717 Cr, Rs 18/Share Dividend Declared

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) today declared a surge of 3.86% year-on-year (YoY) in its standalone net profit to Rs 2,717 crore for September quarter as against Rs 2,616 crore announced in the same quarter last year. Board of directors of HUL declared an interim dividend of Rs 18 per equity share of the FV of Re 1 each for the FY ending March 31, 2024. The company's sale for the quarter under consideration surged 3.53% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 15,027 crore as against Rs 14,514 crore last year, as per the regulatory filing. Last trading price of Hindustan Unilever Ltd share on BSE is Rs 2549.00 per share with marginal intraday gain of 0.04%.

According to the regulatory filing of the company dated October 19, 2023, "The reported numbers include a one-off credit from favourable resolution of a past indirect tax litigation. This benefitted reported turnover and PAT growth by 1% and 4% respectively."

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter at Rs. 3,694 crores, up 9%. EBITDA margin improved by 130 basis points to at 24.6 %, added the regulatory filing of the company.

Rohit Jawa, CEO and Managing Director commented on the results and said, "FMCG demand is likely to continue a gradual recovery with tailwinds from the upcoming festive season, sustained buoyancy of services and Government's thrust on capex. At the same time, we need to be watchful of volatile global commodity prices as well as the impact of monsoon on crop output and reservoir levels."

HUL Declares Rs 18/Share Interim Dividend: According to the BSE filing of the company dated today, "declared an interim dividend of Rs. 18/- per equity share of face value of Re. 1/- each for the financial year ending 31st March, 2024. As intimated vide our letter dated 5th October, 2023, the record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of the shareholders for the interim dividend has been fixed as Thursday, 2nd November, 2023, and dividend will be paid to the shareholders on or after Thursday, 16th November, 2023."

Hindustan Unilever Stock Performance & Return: Current market price of Hindustan Unilever share on BSE 2549.00 apiece at 1:10 pm. Its 52-week high price is Rs 2768.50 per share and 52-week low price is Rs 2393.00 per share, respectively. The large cap FMCG giant has a market capitalisation of Rs 5,98,781.59 crore. HUL share declined 0.42% in last 1-week, gained 1.08% in last 2-weeks, declined 4.57% in last 1-month, and fell 1.28% in last 1-year. In last 3-years Hindustan Unilever shares offered a rally of 17.02%.

Hindustan Unilever Sets Record Date For Dividend: According to the BSE filing of Hindustan Unilever dated October 5, 2023, Board of Directors of the Company fixed November 2, 2023 as the record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement of shareholders for the Interim Dividend, if any.

Hindustan Unilever Dividend History: Earlier this year, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) declared a final dividend of Rs 22 per share for the financial year ended March 2023 or 2,200% of the face value of Re 1 per share. As HUL had already offered Rs 17 per share interim dividend to its shareholders in FY23, total dividend declared by HUL in FY23 stood at Rs 39 per share. Hindustan Unilever Ltd. has declared 48 dividends since March 27, 2001. At the current share price of Rs 2551.30 per share, it offers a dividend yield of 1.53%, according to Trendlyne.

Brokerages Viewpoint on HUL: Earlier, Sharekhan in its report dated October 18, 2023 said, revenue is expected to grow by ~4% y-o-y to Rs 15,317 crore, aided by 6%/2%/5% y-o-y growth in the homecare/personal care/foods and refreshments categories. Volume growth is expected to be at 3-4%. Meanwhile, gross margin is expected to be higher by 370 bps y-o-y, aided by softening of raw-material prices. However, OPM is expected to be up by just ~60 bps y-o-y due to higher advertisement and other expenses. Adjusted PAT is expected to be declared at Rs 2539 crore, up 6.4% YoY. PAT is expected to grow by ~6% y-o-y, in line with ~6% y-o-y operating profit growth.

Meanwhile, Prabhudas on October 18 stated in its report, "we expect 5.5% revenue growth with 2.5% realization growth and volume growth of 3%. Gross/EBITDA margins to improve by 439/21bps YoY due to lower commodity inflation and partly neutralised by higher adspends. Adj. PAT is expected to decline by 2.8% YoY due to tax credit in the base quarter. we expect laundry and BPC to show improvement while HFD is likely to remain under pressure."

It is likely to announce its Adj. PAT at Rs 25,625 crore YoY, down 2.8% and EBITDA at 35,949, up 6.5%, added the analyst.

Hindustan Unilever About: Hindustan Unilever Limited is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company with a 90-year heritage in the country. It has a wide and resilient portfolio of 50+ brands, spanning 16 FMCG categories, which are a part of everyday life of millions of consumers across India. It manufactures more than 65 billion units annually, that are made available to our consumers through nine million retail outlets and many digital commerce platforms, according to its official website.