Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch food major Unilever, said Sunday net profit for the quarter ended June rose 29.3 percent on growth in food and beverages, beating forecasts.
Net profit for the company, India's biggest consumer products firm, climbed to 4.93 billion rupees (121 million dollars) from 3.81 billion rupees a year earlier. "We saw strong growth in the key segments of food and beverages," said company financial director D. Sundaram. Sales for the personal care, detergents and beverages firm rose 16.4 percent to 35.87 billion rupees.
Analysts had forecast second quarter net profit at 4.2 billion rupees. Separately, the company said its board had approved Sunday a plan to buy back up to 6.3 billion rupees of its stock at 230 rupees a share, a 17 percent premium on the traded price on Indian exchanges. Hindustan Lever, 52-percent owned by Unilever Plc, fell 8.2 rupees or 4.01 percent to 196.45 rupees Friday while the 30-share Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index plunged 3.43 percent to 15,234.57.