Kerala's corporate boardrooms still devoid of women at helm
The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) was quick to celebrate the moment on social media. Hailing Priya as a Malayali achiever, the Facebook post proudly declared that she had 'just shattered the glass ceiling at India's largest FMCG company.'
While Priya's elevation to the top job at HUL made headlines across India, it also cast a sharp light on Kerala's own corporate boardrooms, where women at helm remain glaringly absent.
Take a look at the over 30 listed companies headquartered in Kerala — Federal Bank, South Indian Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank in the financial sector; Muthoot and Manappuram in gold finance; or Kitex Garments, V-Guard, Geojit Financial, Wonderla, and Kalyan Jewellers. Not one of them is headed by a woman.
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Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
HUL rides out of the woods in Q1
Consumption engines are coming to life in India's urban and rural markets, powering sales at Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) after several dismal quarters. India's largest packaged consumer goods maker scored growth across all its verticals, beating Street estimates on sales and profit as it looked ahead to sunny days. Sales volumes at the maker of Lux soaps and Knorr soups grew 3% after three quarters of slowing growth, as the consumption-focused company gained from tax rebates for the middle class, lower interest rates, the start of rains, and its own entry into new segments. Net profit rose 8% to ₹ 2,732 crore on a 4% sales jump to ₹ 15,747 crore. Investors cheered the earnings, lifting HUL shares by 3.48% to ₹ 2,521.85 each at close. Rohit Jawa, HUL's outgoing chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), listed several key factors that are expected to boost consumer spending. Among these are income tax rebates, and lower repo rates that trim housing loan EMIs and boost purchasing power. He also noted that decreasing food inflation is providing much-needed relief to consumers. Consequently, HUL anticipates that the first half of the current fiscal year will outperform the second half of the previous one. "We feel that we are now cycling out some of the tough periods in the last few years,' Jawa told reporters at HUL's Mumbai headquarters. Optimism at FMCG industry's bellwether bodes well for the country's consumption sector as a whole, as the economy navigates challenges on external trade and technological disruption. Jawa's nearly four-decade stint at Unilever, which included roles like executive vice-president, North Asia and chairman, Unilever China, concluded on Thursday. He had served as HUL's MD and CEO for almost two years. Priya Nair, Unilever's president, beauty and wellbeing, takes over as new CEO on 1 August. Jawa also expressed gratitude for his 37 years at HUL and Unilever. 'I have worked across eight markets. I have, in the last 12 years, been a CEO of three very significant markets in Asia. I feel very grateful and also excited, because I feel I need to do something different now, in the second half of my career…try new things. I'm looking to chart a new profile of work and a new way of living,' Jawa said. Jawa also noted the resilience and improvement in both urban and rural informal sectors, a crucial segment for the company. While the salaried urban class faced recent stress, Jawa observed an uptick in urban consumption over the past few months, albeit a gradual one. Rural markets continue to sustain their improvement. He expressed optimism for mass consumption, attributing this it to a combination of fiscal and monetary policies, a favourable monsoon, and moderating food inflation. "Hopefully, this will sustain,' said Jawa. HUL's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) stood at ₹ 3,558 crore in the June quarter, with the Ebitda margin at 22.6%, a decline of 120 basis points over the year. Lower tax expenses due to a re-estimation of tax provisions aided profit after tax growth by 13%, the company said in its quarterly filings. The company's 3% volume growth for the June quarter also exceeded street estimates, coming after flat to 2% growth in previous quarters. Analysts had projected HUL's standalone profit at ₹ 2,580 crore, with a revenue of ₹ 15,960 crore. Jawa said there are visible signs of demand improvement across both urban and rural markets. The urban middle class, affected by high inflation, has been under stress, impacting demand for major consumer goods. HUL reported sales growth across all verticals during the quarter. Beauty and wellbeing saw 7% sales revenue growth, with low-single digit volume growth. Its personal care vertical (Lux, Closeup, Dove, Liril) grew 6%, driven by calibrated pricing actions due to commodity inflation. Foods delivered 5% sales growth. The company lowered tea prices in response to competition and lower input costs. The home care division (detergents and floor cleaners) reported 4% sales growth, with the company reducing prices in parts of this portfolio in the previous quarter to pass on commodity benefits and address competitive intensity. 'We expect commodities to be range-bound, and hence, we expect that going forward, our pricing will be at low single digits,' said Ritesh Tiwari, chief financial officer, HUL. Recent Kantar estimates indicate an overall FMCG volume growth slowdown to 3.9% for the 12 months ending June 2025. Household care, especially laundry and washing liquid, continues strong growth industrywide. Summer-centric categories were significantly impacted by unseasonal rains. In 2024, HUL unveiled its Aspire strategy, focusing on 'core', 'future core", and 'market makers' portfolios to accelerate growth and attract customers. 'Our growth is driven by our strategy to move to fast-growth spaces and to go where the growth is—new channels, new segments, and also grow competitively led by volumes. We have grown our market shares this quarter. Our real focus is now is to keep moving our portfolio to the faster growth spaces. As that segment of our business gets bigger automatically, our natural growth rate will go up,' said Jawa. Jawa said that 50% of HUL's total media spending is now on digital, with half of that on social media. 'We're just going where the consumers are going,' he said. The company will continue expanding existing brands into new adjacent spaces. Over the past year, HUL has revamped core brands like Lifebuoy and Vim, and launched premium brands such as Liquid I.V. and Hellmann's mayonnaise. It also acquired new-age personal care brand Minimalist for ₹ 2,955 crore this year, sold its Pureit water purifier business, and announced the demerger of its ice cream business. 'We have launched several global brands like Liquid I.V., Nexxus and Hellman's. We are building locally as well. If need be, we will acquire brands like Minimalist locally,' he said. 'Our core brands—which is half of our business—we have renovated most of the brands there, made them more contemporary. Our future core brands are extending to new adjacent spaces, new benefits and formats, and on market makers, which is already a ₹ 7,000 crore portfolio is all about innovation.' HUL will continue investing in its business as consumer demand improves. 'Taking the benefit of improved condition for FMCG consumption—the work that we had done with our portfolio, which is more premium, more future-focused—there is already a tailwind that is coming in the business. We had called out that we will further invest in the business…As we see gross margins going up, we will further invest the improved gross margin in the business,' said Tiwari. During the June quarter, ad spends for the maker of Surf Excel detergent increased by 7.6% year-on-year.
News18
5 hours ago
- News18
HUL shares climb 3.50 pc post Q1 earnings; mkt valuation surges Rs 19,936 cr
New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Shares of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday climbed nearly 3.50 per cent after the firm reported a nearly 6 per cent rise in consolidated net profit for the June quarter of FY26. The stock rallied 3.48 per cent to settle at Rs 2,521.85 apiece on the BSE. During the day, it jumped 4.56 per cent to Rs 2,548.20. On the NSE, it went up by 3.43 per cent to end at Rs 2,521.20 each. The company's market valuation surged by Rs 19,936.28 crore to Rs 5,92,531.67 crore. The stock emerged as the biggest gainer among the Sensex and Nifty firms. Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Thursday reported a 5.97 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,768 crore for the June quarter of FY26, helped by gains from a re-estimation of taxes paid in the previous year. The company had logged a net profit of Rs 2,612 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from HUL, the maker of popular brands such as Dove, Lifebuoy, Lux, Lakmé, and Sunsilk. Revenue from the sale of products of the leading FMCG firm was up 5.15 per cent at Rs 16,296 crore in the June quarter, led by volume growth. This was at Rs 15,497 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. PTI SUM SUM SHW (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 31, 2025, 17:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
News18
12 hours ago
- News18
HUL Q1 Results: Net Profit Jumps 6% YoY To Rs 2,768 Crore, Revenue Up 5%
Last Updated: HUL Share Price: After the Q1 Results, shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday jump 3.9% to trade at Rs 2,533 on the NSE. HUL Q1 Results. HUL Q1 Results: Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday reported a 6 per cent year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 2,768 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2025. Its revenue in April-June 2025 increased 5 per cent to Rs 16,323 crore, HUL's underlying volume growth (UVG) stood at 4 per cent and underlying sales growth (USG) at 5 per cent, according to a regulatory filing. After the announcement, shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday jumped 3.9% to trade at Rs 2,533 on the NSE at 11.03 am. HUL's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) in Q1 FY26 stood at Rs 3,718 crore, marginally down from Rs 3,744 crore in the year-ago period. Its EBITDA margin fell 130 basis points to 22.8 per cent, in line with the company's guidance, as HUL continued to step up business investments. Its profit after tax before exceptional items, however, fell 5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,526 crore. HUL Q1 Results: Segment-Wise Performance The Home Care segment posted a 4% USG, led by high-single digit volume growth despite facing pricing pressures. Within the category, Fabric Wash saw mid-single digit volume growth, driven by strong performance from Surf Excel, while Household Care continued its strong momentum in liquid detergents, delivering double-digit volume growth. Beauty & Wellbeing recorded a 7% USG and low-single digit UVG. Hair Care registered mid-single digit growth, while Skin Care and Colour Cosmetics saw low-single digit growth. The Personal Care division grew 6%, supported by calibrated pricing actions in response to inflation in input costs. Growth in Skin Cleansing was driven by premium soap bars and bodywash, while Oral Care delivered mid-single digit growth, with Closeup playing a key role. The Foods business reported 5% USG and mid-single digit volume growth. Tea and coffee posted double-digit growth, while Ice Cream volumes rose by high-single digits, despite adverse weather conditions. Packaged Foods and Lifestyle Nutrition continued to consolidate their market positions. Commenting on the results, HUL CEO and MD Rohit Jawa said: 'FMCG demand has continued to remain stable, with a gradual uptick in recency. Encouraged by favourable macro-economic indicators, we strategically stepped up our investments to effectively advance our portfolio transformation agenda. This has resulted in competitive, broad-based growth with a USG of 5 percent, driven by UVG of 4 percent." Looking ahead, Jawa added that HUL expects the recovery trend to continue and reiterated confidence in the company's ASPIRE strategy to drive growth through innovation, digital acceleration, and strengthening presence in future-ready channels and segments. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
