Hindustan Unilever (HUL) reported a sharp jump in profit for the December quarter, but the market was not impressed. The stock fell nearly 3 percent in intra-day trade after the company said a large part of the profit rise came from a one-time gain linked to its icecream business demerger.
HUL’s net profit for the third quarter (Q3FY26) more than doubled to Rs 6,603 crore from Rs 2,989 crore a year ago, a 120 percent rise.
However, this figure includes profit from the icecream business, which has now been demerged into Kwality Wall’s (India) and treated as a discontinued operation.
Excluding this one-time gain, net profit from continuing operations fell 30 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,118 crore.
On a sequential basis, profit rose 145 percent from Rs 2,694 crore in Q2FY26.
Revenue from operations rose 5.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 16,197 crore. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue increased 3 percent.
Underlying volume growth stood at 4 percent, indicating modest improvement in demand. EBITDA rose 3 percent to Rs 3,788 crore, while EBITDA margin remained stable at 23.3 percent. Total expenses increased 6.4 percent to Rs 13,078 crore.
The company reported an exceptional loss of Rs 576 crore during the quarter. This included Rs 113 crore due to the implementation of new labour codes, which increased gratuity and compensated absence liabilities as of December 31, 2025.
HUL said it will acquire the remaining 49 percent stake in Zywie Ventures for Rs 824 crore, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. It also approved the sale of its 19.8 percent stake in Nutritionalab to USV Private for Rs 307 crore.
The company expects FY27 to be better than FY26, supported by portfolio reshaping and improving demand conditions. Over the past six months, HUL shares have declined more than 4 percent.
