HUL Q3 net profit up 16 per cent at Rs871 crore

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HLL), the Indian arm of Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever Plc, has reported a 16 per cent jump in fiscal third-quarter net profit, at Rs871 crore against a net profit of Rs750 crore, for the quarter ended 31 December 2011.

HUL shares ended Rs14.30 (2.88 per cent) down at Rs481.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company announced a more than doubling of royalty payments to parent Unilever from 1.4 per cent to 3.5 per cent by 2018.

HUL, India's largest household and consumer goods maker, however, reported a sluggish volume growth of just 5 per cent during the October-December quarter of fiscal 2012-13, compared with 9 per cent a year ago.

Net sales of the company rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs6,655 crore in October-December 2012-13, the company said in a release.

HUL, according to CFO R Sridhar, had to face some mid-term challenges like continued slowdown in some discretionary consumer categories like face care.

"There is some pressure on consumer vallets."