Hindustan Unilever Limited's Q4 net profit drops 17.4 pc QoQ to Rs 2,464 crore

The net profit stood at Rs 2,464 crore in the March quarter, down from Rs 2,982 crore in the December quarter. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the profit slipped 3.7 per cent from Rs 2,558 crore reported in Q4 FY24.

The company's total income for the March quarter rose slightly by 3.5 per cent to Rs 15,979 crore, compared to Rs 15,441 crore in the same period last year.

However, revenue remained largely flat when compared to the previous quarter, according to its stock exchange filing.

“This year marked a step up in our portfolio transformation with increased innovation in high-growth spaces, amplified investments in channels of the future, acquisition of Minimalist, divestment of Pureit, and the decision to demerge Ice Cream business,” said Rohit Jawa, CEO and Managing Director of the company.

“Looking ahead, we anticipate demand conditions to gradually improve over the next fiscal year,” Jawa added.

HUL’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also saw a marginal increase, coming in at Rs 3,466 crore as against Rs 3,435 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Despite this, the EBITDA margin dipped by 30 basis points to 23.1 per cent. HUL’s board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 24 per share for FY25.

This is in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 19 and a special dividend of Rs 10 declared earlier, bringing the total dividend payout for the year to Rs 53 per share.

On the business front, HUL’s segment performance was mixed. The home care segment grew to Rs 5,818 crore, while beauty and wellbeing revenue rose to Rs 3,113 crore.

Personal care also improved to Rs 2,124 crore. However, the foods business saw a slight decline to Rs 3,886 crore.

The ‘others’ category, including exports and consignment sales, jumped to Rs 263 crore from Rs 181 crore, the company said in its filings.