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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026

--HUL: Co's mass market pdts seeing competitive growth overall 

--CONTEXT: Comments by HUL mgmt in post-earnings analyst call 

--HUL: Bullish on opportunity in wellness pdts, don't expect linear growth 

--HUL: Mass mkt pdts did better sequentially in beauty category Q1 

By Anand JC and Gunjan Rajput

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI – Hindustan Unilever Ltd. is "extremely" bullish on the growth opportunities in the wellness category, which is in its early stages in India, the management told analysts in a post-earnings conference call Tuesday. "We have had a huge inflexion (in the category) since (the company's) acquisitions and this is an area in which we don't expect linear growth," Chief Executive Officer Priya Nair said.

Hindustan Unilever entered the health and well-being category in 2022 by picking up stakes in OZiva and Wellbeing Nutrition. Earlier this year, the company fully acquired OZiva and sold off its stake in Wellbeing Nutrition. "Health and well-being saw a soft quarter (Q1) as we transitioned the Oziva business towards emerging consumer demand spaces. We remain committed to investing behind the portfolio and are confident of its long-term growth potential," Chief Financial Officer Niranjan Gupta said.

HUL disclosed its June-quarter financials earlier in the day, leaving the market disappointed as the company missed revenue and profit estimates. The company reported a net profit of INR 26.31 billion, below the consensus estimate of INR 27.22 billion, on revenues of INR 166.57 billion, lower than expectations of INR 168.64 billion.

Nair noted that the macroeconomic environment remains volatile because of the wars going on outside India. "We are only cautioning for the economic scenario and how it might pan out. That remains volatile," she said, adding that the company has the tools to navigate these uncertainties.

Nair said growth in HUL's mass-market products is not lagging the growth in its premium products. While that may be the case in some categories at a sub-segment level, overall, there is competitive growth in mass-market and premium products. "Of course, in India, you are at higher growth rates in some of the premium sub-segments; that indeed is the case of the shape of the market," she said.

Hindustan Unilever will continue to raise the prices of its products in a calibrated manner to offset the pressure from inflation in crude oil-linked derivatives. Crude oil is a key commodity for the consumer goods major as petroleum derivatives account for a large portion of its raw material and packaging costs.

The price of crude oil shot up and remains rather volatile amid the ongoing wars. HUL said it has a "playbook", where it is able to maintain its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation margin even it passes on only 50% of the inflation. "Because we have the flex on all the lines of P&L (profit and loss statement), we do see commodities remaining a bit elevated and we'll take measured steps on the pricing," Gupta said. HUL will be able to maintain its EBITDA margins at current levels as long as it ranges between $75 and $100 per barrel. 

HUL closed Tuesday's session as the biggest laggard on the Nifty 50 benchmark index. The company disclosed its June quarter financials during market hours. Tuesday, its shares closed 7% lower at INR 2,022.70 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

US$1 = INR 95.85

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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