HUL Q3 net profit up 7%; cash-ban impacts biz

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Monday announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company reported a net profit of Rs 1038 crore, a rise of 7% in Q3FY17 as against Rs 971.6 crore during the same period last year.

The total income decreased from Rs. 8529.7 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 to Rs 8400.3 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

HUL's EBITDA margin dropped by 70 basis points, or 5%. In a regulatory filing the company said that during the quarter, the squeeze in liquidity resulted in reduced trade pipelines and lower consumer offtakes. The impact was varied across segments, channels and geographies. 

Cost of goods sold was higher by 60 bps due to rising input costs. Commenting on the quarterly results, Harish Manwani, Chairman, said, "The gradual recovery of the market was temporarily impacted by adverse liquidity conditions. There are early signs of normalisation and our focus continues to remain on innovation led volume growth and improvement in margins."

Moreover, the company also announced the appointment of Dev Bajpai as Director on the Board of the Company.