By Rumman Ahmed
BANGALORE--Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (500696.BY) said Friday its
second-quarter net profit rose 17% from a year earlier, exceeding
the average forecast in a poll even as sales were a tad lower than
expected.
India's largest consumer goods maker by sales had a net profit
of 8.07 billion rupees ($151 million) in the three months ended
Sept. 30, higher than 6.89 billion rupees a year earlier and
exceeding the average forecast for a net profit of 7.72 billion
rupees in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of six analysts.
Sales rose 12% to 61.55 billion rupees from 55.16 billion
rupees, a tad below the 62.90 billion rupees estimated in the
poll.
Hindustan Unilever's results come a week after
cigarettes-to-hospitality company ITC Ltd. (500875.BY) exceeded
expectations with its 21% jump in second-quarter net profit.
Although India's top two consumer goods makers had raised prices
of some of their products in the past few quarters, analysts had
expected sales volume momentum to help buoy sales.
Sales volume trends at these two companies are widely seen as a
proxy for consumer demand in India, which is used to gauge the
impact of a slowing economy.
Write to Rumman Ahmed at rumman.ahmed@dowjones.com
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