HUL Q4 Results: Shares trade flat on expectations of muted growth

Shares of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) were trading flat on Wednesday, April 24, ahead of the announcement of the company’s earnings for the quarter and full financial year ended March 2024 later in the day.

The HUL stock traded 0.2% lower at ₹2,257 apiece on the NSE at 10:36 am on Wednesday compared with its previous close of ₹2,262.75 on Tuesday. For live updates related to Hindustan Unilever Ltd, click here.

Earlier this month, HUL had announced that it would release the Q4 results on April 24. The company management would also host a teleconference/webcast at 6:30 pm to discuss the quarterly numbers.

Experts are predicting a muted set of Q4 numbers from HUL as domestic consumer demand remains weak. Sales and volume growth is widely expected to remain flat, while margins may stay under pressure during Q4 FY24 on the back of price cuts undertaken during the quarter.

For the previous quarter ended December 2023 (Q3FY24), HUL’s quarterly profit growth had missed estimates as competition in the consumer goods space heated up amid a poor demand scenario.

Net profit had risen by a tepid 0.6% to ₹2,519 crore in Q3FY24 compared with a year ago. Sales, meanwhile, had slipped marginally to ₹14,928 crore during the quarter when compared with year-ago levels.

Consequently, HUL shares have taken a beating in the past few months. Year-to-date in 2024, the stock has dropped nearly 15% compared with a 3.3% rise in the benchmark Nifty 50 index. In the past one week, the stock has risen around 1%.

The company was also in news on Wednesday after reports said that global investors have cut holdings in the company to a four-year low, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Data shows that foreign funds reduced their ownership in HUL to 12.7% at the end of March, down from as high as 14.5% in June last year.