Stars have aligned favourably for India’s consumption economy, Hindustan Unilever Ltd indicated on Thursday, expressing confidence that its next six months will be considerably better than the last.Lower food inflation, falling interest rates and a positive monsoon promise greater demand in the days ahead, India’s largest packaged consumer goods maker said, after reporting earnings that met Street estimates.“We feel this is a good moment for the consumer packaged goods industry. Macros are turning favourable,” chief executive officer and managing director Rohit Jawa said at a post-earnings meeting. “Rural markets have recovered, and have been resilient and robust over the last few quarters. Monsoons have been good, projections have been decent, reservoirs are full, and agri output is strong.”While India’s weather office has predicted above-normal monsoon for the year, the Reserve Bank of India has begun its rate cut cycle, reducing the repo rate by half a percentage point since February. Meanwhile, retail inflation fell to 3.34% in March, the lowest since August 2019. Food inflation stood at 2.69%, against 8.52% a year ago. Jawa said these factors will be an important trigger, especially for companies such as HUL with a large rural portfolio.Also read | Hindustan Unilever keeps the faith in the countrysideFuel for consumption “Urban demand has been subdued in recent quarters, but macro tailwinds are building. Food inflation is coming down to low levels, interest rates are down, EMIs are falling, tax relief is there, and crude that impacts every household in a meaningful way is soft—these factors bode well for consumption,” he said.HUL is often seen as a proxy for domestic consumption, given its market position and its wide portfolio of household essentials; hence, its rosy outlook comes as a spot of relief for the economy buffeted by external headwinds. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the Reserve Bank of India have lowered their predictions for India’s growth in the current fiscal year.The maker of Lux soaps and Knorr soups clocked a net profit of ₹2,493 crore in the March quarter, up 3.61% from a year earlier; however, it was lower than in the December quarter when it made a one-time gain of ₹509 crore by selling its Pureit water purifier business.Standalone sales rose 2% in the March quarter to ₹15,000 crore. Sales volumes ticked up 2%, in line with Street estimates, against flattish volume growth in the December quarter.Read this | HUL Q4 preview: Another tepid quarter as volume growth stays elusiveVolume surpriseA poll of 22 analysts had projected HUL’s standalone revenue at ₹15,200 crore, and profit of ₹2,482 crore. Volume growth came as a positive, analysts said.“HUL posted an overall in-line Q4FY25 (versus our estimates). Volumes grew 2% year on year ahead of our flat estimates,” said Abneesh Roy of Nuvama Institutional Equities.Ebitda margin at 23.1% declined 30 bps from the previous year. Ebitda in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. 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HUL transitions to a steady pace in its consumption trajectory.
