Consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever, on Friday reported an above-expected rise in quarterly profit. HUL, which is India's largest consumer goods maker, posted a 17 percent rise in net profit at 8.07 billion rupees ($152 million) in the three months to September, compared to 6.89 billion rupees a year earlier.
Sales rose 12 percent to 61.55 billion rupees. The earnings of the company, which sells brands such as skin fairness cream Fair and Lovely, Dove soap and shampoo Clinic Plus, beat market expectations of a 7.7-billion-rupee profit. The firm's personal care business rose in the quarter by 12 percent year-on-year, while soaps and detergents jumped 22 percent. "In a volatile and uncertain environment, we continue to sustain our growth momentum while steadily improving margins," said HUL chairman Harish Manwani. The company's food products segment grew 10 percent in the quarter from a year earlier.