Thu Jan 23 08:05:46 UTC 2025: ## HUL Shares Plummet After Disappointing Q3 Results

**Mumbai, January 23, 2025** – Shares of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), India’s FMCG giant, experienced a sharp 4% drop in early morning trading today, hitting an eight-month low of ₹2,254. The decline follows the release of the company’s Q3 FY25 results, which revealed a slowdown in consumer demand and weaker-than-expected volume growth.

While HUL reported a marginal 2% year-on-year increase in sales to ₹15,195 crore, this was driven largely by price increases. Underlying volume growth (UVG) fell across all segments except Home Care. Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, and Foods all reported UVG declines. EBITDA margins also dipped by 20 basis points to 23.5%.

Net profit for the quarter reached ₹3,001 crore, a 19% YoY increase, but this was significantly boosted by the profit from the divestment of the Pureit business. Profit after tax, excluding exceptional items, remained flat at ₹2,540 crore.

The underwhelming performance prompted several brokerage firms to revise their target prices for HUL stock. Nuvama lowered its target price to ₹3,225 (from ₹3,395), while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. Investec maintained a ‘Hold’ rating, reducing its target to ₹2,643 (from ₹2,654), citing challenges to near-term growth. CLSA issued an ‘Underperform’ rating with a significantly reduced target price of ₹1,924. Goldman Sachs maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating with a target price of ₹2,480.

Analysts attributed the weak performance to a slowdown in urban consumer demand, leading to downtrading to smaller product packs. The acquisition of Minimalist, while viewed favorably by some brokerages, is expected to have a minimal impact on sales in FY26. The overall consensus points to persistent challenges in the near term, with a recovery not immediately anticipated. Several brokerages lowered their earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the coming years, reflecting concerns about margin pressures and weak volume growth.

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