Hindustan Unilever Limited reported a strong 10% underlying sales growth (USG) for the June quarter of 2026, driven equally by volume and price. The company achieved an EBITDA margin of 23% and a Profit After Tax (PAT) before exceptional items growth of 9% year-on-year. Management expressed confidence in navigating market volatility and expects FY’27 to be better than FY’26.
HUL Delivers Robust Q1 FY27 Performance
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced a strong performance for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, with turnover reaching INR17,184 crores. This represents an underlying sales growth (USG) of 10%, marking the highest growth in 13 quarters, driven equally by volume and price. The company highlighted its resilience and agility in a volatile global environment, attributing the performance to strategic actions in portfolio transformation, execution sharpening, and market development.
Key Financial Highlights
Niranjan Gupta, CFO, detailed the financial results, stating that the company navigated external volatility through financial discipline, achieving an EBITDA Margin of 23%, within the guided range. Absolute EBITDA grew 8% year-on-year to INR3,947 crores, while Profit After Tax before exceptional items (PAT(bei)) grew 9% year-on-year to INR2,731 crores. Reported Profit After Tax stood at INR2,680 crores, a 2% year-on-year decline due to a one-off tax credit in the previous year’s base period.
Segment Performance Overview
The company reported strong performance across key segments:
- Home Care delivered 14% USG, with Fabric Wash achieving broad-based double-digit, volume-led growth. Household Care also saw accelerated performance with double-digit USG and UVG.
- Beauty & Wellbeing achieved 12% USG. Hair Care delivered double-digit, volume-led growth, with premium offerings outperforming. Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics grew high-single digit.
- Personal Care delivered 4% USG, impacted by palm oil inflation. Skin Cleansing grew mid-single digit, driven by premium bars, while Bodywash accelerated its double-digit growth.
- Foods segment delivered 7% USG. Premium Tea reported low-single digit UVG, while Coffee saw double-digit, volume-led growth. Lifestyle Nutrition continued its momentum with double-digit growth, and Packaged Foods delivered high-single digit growth.
Outlook and Strategy
Looking ahead, HUL remains confident about the Indian economy’s resilience and the stability of the FMCG demand space. The company expects FY’27 to be better than FY’26, backed by continued action on market development, channel expansion, and portfolio transformation. The strategy emphasizes investing in innovation, technology, manufacturing, and digital transformation to build a future-fit business. HUL plans to focus on competitive volume-led growth, structural savings, and calibrated pricing actions to maintain EBITDA margins.
Key Growth Drivers and Initiatives
Priya Nair, CEO & Managing Director, highlighted several competitive advantages: supply chain resilience through global procurement, digitally powered R&D, and flexible manufacturing. Portfolio strength, with 50 brands across 15 categories, allows for calibrated pricing. Investments in brands and A&P spends increased sequentially to INR1,657 crores, the highest in 11 quarters. The company is also focusing on building capabilities for future growth, including the launch of Unilever Fragrance House and the Liquids Lab of the Future. Embedding artificial intelligence across the value chain and leveraging digital-first distribution centers are also key initiatives.
Source: BSE
