The Chief Executive Officer says that the company enjoys a privileged position in the country and will continue to invest to protect its leadership position
Unilever Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fernando Fernandez has said that the company will keep on investing in the Indian market to protect its leadership position across segments. Fernandez added that the company expects growth in the next decade to be driven by India.
“We will invest in India to protect the leadership position we have. We really believe that the next decade is the decade of India. We enjoy a privileged position there,” Fernandez told investors post second quarter results.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer Srinivas Phatak added that the company expects the Indian unit to deliver high-single-digit growth in the coming years, with profit growth slightly ahead of revenue growth. The group’s Underlying sales growth (USG) in the first half of the current year was 4.8 per cent, with 4.2 per cent from volume and 0.6 per cent from price.
In India, the company reported 8 per cent USG with 6 per cent volume growth. Performance was broad-based with continued market share gains, led by double-digit growth in beauty and wellbeing and home care. Growth accelerated to 10 per cent in the second quarter as both home care and hair care reached their highest ever market shares.
Home Care And Foods
Home Care underlying sales grew 7.6 per cent, with 7.4 per cent from volume and 0.2 per cent from price. This strong performance was broad-based across categories and geographies and supported by share gains, including India reaching its highest-ever home care share. In fabric cleaning, India delivered double-digit growth in the first half, with balanced volume and price in the second quarter following commodity-linked price rises.
The company’s Foods segment’s underlying sales grew 1.2 per cent, with 1.2 per cent volume and flat price. This was led by broad-based growth in emerging markets. In the second quarter, growth was below the company’s expectations, reflecting softer conditions in developed markets and increased competition in US condiments. India grew mid-single-digit, led by double-digit growth in Horlicks.
HUL’s Q1 Business Performance
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has reported a 2.22 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in its consolidated net profit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. The net profit dipped to Rs 2,680 crore from Rs 2,741 crore. The decline was due to a one-off tax credit in the June 2025 quarter.
The company’s total sales rose 10 per cent YoY to Rs 17,184 crore during the quarter. Total income also surged to Rs 17,529 crore from Rs 15,958 crore during the same period. Ebitda margin was at 23 per cent and remained within the guided range while navigating a volatile operating environment. Ebitda stood at Rs 3,947 crore, marking an uptick of 8 per cent YoY.
The growth in revenue was primarily driven by the company’s home care segment, which delivered 14 per cent underlying sales growth (USG), led by high-single digit UVG. The company said that disciplined market development and consumer-centric innovations enabled its highest growth in three years and strengthened market leadership, while maintaining volume resilience.
