Shares of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) declined over 6% to Rs 2,034 on the NSE on Tuesday after the company’s first quarter earnings missed analyst estimates.
The company reported a 3% year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 2,673 crore for the first quarter of FY27. The company said the decline in PAT resulted from a one-off tax credit in the previous quarter.
Revenue from operations, however, rose 10.2% year-on-year to Rs 17,149 crore in Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 15,552 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
HUL reported an underlying sales growth (USG) of 10%, driven equally by volume and price, marking the company’s highest growth in thirteen quarters.
EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 3,947 crore, up 8% from Rs 3,640 crore in the year-ago quarter. However, the EBITDA margin declined 40 basis points to 23% from 23.4% in the same period last year, HUL said in its investor presentation.
HUL Q1 segment-wise performance
Home Care: Home Care delivered 14% USG, its highest growth in three years, driven by high-single-digit UVG. Disciplined market development and consumer-centric innovations helped strengthen market leadership while maintaining volume resilience.
Beauty & Wellbeing: The segment recorded 12% USG, supported by high-single-digit UVG. Hair Care posted double-digit USG, led by Premium Hair Care, including future formats, while continuing to strengthen market leadership. Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics delivered high-single-digit USG, driven by double-digit growth in Premium Skin Care.
Personal Care: Personal Care reported 4% USG, led by pricing as palm oil inflation persisted for the second consecutive year. Skin Cleansing recorded mid-single-digit USG, with Premium Bars delivering competitive volume-led double-digit growth. The segment also strengthened its market leadership in Bodywash.
Foods: Foods delivered 7% USG, driven by mid-single-digit UVG and continued strong performance in Lifestyle Nutrition and Coffee. Premium Tea recorded low-single-digit UVG, while Coffee delivered double-digit, volume-led growth, with RTD and Bru Gold continuing to scale up. Lifestyle Nutrition maintained its double-digit growth momentum. Boost crossed the Rs 1,000 crore annual turnover milestone, while Horlicks Superfoods and RTD continued to see encouraging traction.
HUL outlook
HUL expects FY27 to be better than FY26, led by portfolio and channel transformation. Commodity volatility continues to persist, with inflationary pressures expected to remain in the short term.
The company expects consolidated EBITDA margin to remain around the current guided range, while its focus remains on driving competitive, volume-led revenue growth anchored to its key priorities.
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