Hindustan Unilever Limited Results for September Quarter 2011

31-10-2011 : Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced results for the September Quarter 2011.
During the quarter, Domestic Consumer business grew at 18.5% with strong underlying volume growth of 9.8%. Growth has been broad based, and ahead of market. All segments have delivered double digit growth for the third consecutive quarter. Soaps and Detergents grew by 21.8%. Growth in Laundry was ahead of market, underpinned by double digit growth in Rin, Surf and Wheel. Vim was relaunched during the quarter with 100 Nimbuon Ki Shakti. Skin Cleansing had one of its strongest quarters with all segments of the portfolio performing well. Lux and Lifebuoy grew in double digits while the premium portfolio registered its 10 consecutive quarter of double digit growth. Lux was relaunched during the quarter with superior product and salient advertising. Personal Products grew by 18.2%. Growth in Skin Care accelerated with Fair & Lovely, Vaseline and Ponds growing in strong double digits. Fair & Lovely has been modernized and is yielding good results. Vaseline and Ponds continue to build segments of future with differentiated benefits and aspirational offerings - Vaseline Total Moisture was relaunched with 3 variants and Ponds White Beauty was extended with Naturals range during the quarter. The face washes range was expanded with introduction of Dove Face Wash. Hair and Oral delivered double digit growth amidst heightened competitive intensity. Nourishing Oil care range and Re. 1 sachets were introduced under Dove during the quarter to expand the consumer franchise.
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Beverages grew by 14.6%, with all brands delivering double digit growth. New range of flavored and green tea bags was launched under Taj Mahal. Packaged Foods growth at 20.9% was broad based. Kissan range was relaunched with a new brand visual and 100% Real proposition. Knorr Soupy Noodles range was extended with an accessible Rs.5 pack. Kwality Walls continued its strong growth momentum led by innovations and distribution expansion. Pureit continues to expand its portfolio with the latest entry into fast growing RO water purifier segment with Marvella RO. Distribution across modern electronic retail chains is being scaled up and Go to Market integration is expected to be completed by the year end. Inflation and commodity costs continued to be high. Cost pressures were managed dynamically through aggressive savings programmes coupled with judicious pricing. Cost of Goods Sold is up by 340 bps due to high input costs, especially in Soaps & Detergents.The overall competitive intensity remained high and A&P spends at 11.8% of sales was maintained at competitive levels. Brand investment was stepped up in Personal Products, Beverages and Packaged Foods while spends in Soaps and Detergents were recalibrated in line with industry trends.The business continues to focus on driving buying efficiencies, cost saving programmes and return on marketing investments, with good results. Profit before interest and tax (PBIT) grew by 30.1% with PBIT margin being up by 130 bps. Profit after tax but before exceptional items, PAT (bei), grew by 22.3% to Rs. 652 crore during the quarter. Net Profit at Rs.689 crore grew by 21.7%. The Board of Directors have declared an interim dividend of Rs.3.50 per share for the accounting year ending 31 March 2012. Harish Manwani, Chairman commented: Against the backdrop of a challenging environment, we have delivered one of our strongest quarters with topline growth well ahead of the market and improved operating margins. We will continue to leverage consumer insights to deliver winning innovations and maintain relentless focus on execution, cost management and building organizational capabilities for competitive advantage.
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About Hindustan Unilever Limited Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HULs mission is to add vitality to life through its presence in over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. The company meets everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care, with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. Media Contacts: Email:mediacentre.hul@unilever.com, Telephone: Prasad Pradhan - 022 39832429, R Ram - 022 39832413

Carriers

Marketing
Our global portfolio of brands is trusted by consumers the world over. And marketing is critical to understanding, creating and building demand.

Challenge brings reward

The scope and variety of our marketing activity is huge. The scope and variety of our marketing activity is huge. Working on great categories and brands in a competitive environment that changes all the time, the pursuit of market share and volume growth is a challenging and rewarding role.

Expert knowledge
Marketing at Unilever offers many opportunities. Marketing at Unilever offers many opportunities. To engage closely with consumers understanding their preferences and needs. To operate at a global, regional and local level across a broad range of products. To experience world-class professional development and acquire leading edge skills. To lead assignments that build business and brand equity. The discipline is divided in two broad areas.

Brand development
This is about creating exciting and compelling visions for our brands and developing plans across the full marketing mix. This is about creating exciting and compelling visions for our brands and developing plans across the full marketing mix. It includes brand communications, innovation and renovation as well as channel-specific propositions.

Brand building
Here we translate those visions into a local market context, plan practical activity and make sure those plans are executed flawlessly. Here we translate those visions into a local market context, plan practical activity and make sure those plans are executed flawlessly. Through leading the country operations, this teams job is to deliver market share and revenue.

The destination
Unilever is a destination for outstanding marketers and we attract the very best. Unilever is a destination for outstanding marketers and we attract the very best. In an organisation that values creativity, plays to individual's strengths and allows people to be themselves, our aim is to maintain highly-skilled teams with a wealth of experience.

Finance
As a member of our finance team, you'll help us to seize opportunities as well as set aggressive targets and deliver on them.
Input to the end result
You'll be part of a team that's continuously trying to bring products to customers that meet their needs and at a price they can afford. Everything we do is based on this premise. For example, finance has direct input into Unilever's long, medium and short-term plans as well as our cost reduction programmes and innovation projects.

Improving performance
Within one of our operating companies, the roles offer a single view of the business from its processes and operations to the ways we can improve performance. Moving on from there, the possibilities are diverse. You could specialise in areas such as financial control or internal audit, treasury or mergers and acquisitions. With a broad overview of our business, youll deal with challenges that cross brands, professions and geographical regions. Developing a deep understanding of the strategies that drive our growth and profitability, youll be at the forefront of how we evolve to meet our goals.

How we work
Our operating structure is divided into three work streams. Finance Business Partners embed best practice and enhance decision support skills. Accounting and Information applies information management processes to create value for the business. Expertise Services work across everything from insurance and risk, to investor relations and pensions. This structure is designed to make finance an influential force at the heart of the business by offering world class expertise in areas where we can add real value.

Customer development
Whether you're in category or account management, these roles will challenge your understanding of both our business & our consumers.
Trend setters
Many of our customers set trends in their markets. This means that competitors as well as consumers are watching them. Which in turn means that we need to work alongside our customers in pioneering new products, new categories and new concepts.

Category management and customer marketing

As a category manager, you'll be responsible for the overall sales and profitability of a product category. Customer marketing is all about developing and implementing fully integrated brand/category solutions and activities. By understanding what consumers want, youll be able to stimulate demand in retail outlets through everything from shelf layouts to promotional strategies to price positions. An important aspect of these roles is strategic thinking chanelling your insights into consumers and competitors to make decisions on pricing, promotion, merchandising and growth.

Account management
Building close relationships with customers, your remit will be to increase turnover, profit and market share. When launching new products, you'll be working hand in hand with brand and category management to get those products onto the shelves. Ensuring that the right stock appears at the right time, you'll plan and implement promotions as well as negotiate prices and margins. And we'll expect you to be thinking ahead all the time introducing new initiatives to keep your customers excited, whilst dealing with practical challenges such as logistics.

Supply chain
From sourcing raw materials to delivering the end product, our technologically advanced supply chain underpins our growth, providing service excellence at competitive costs. Customer Service Front end Understanding customer needs.

The main purpose of this area is to understand customer needs and work together to solve joint logistical challenges such as on shelf availability. Roles include order management, working at the interface between warehousing and transportation, and ensuring the right products arrive in the right place at the right time.

Customer Service Plan

Unique individuals. Our Planners are unique individuals who use great analytical and interpersonal skills to help bring innovations to market. Working with all business functions, they are key to our sales and operations planning process. Demand planning uses models as well as market knowledge to determine potential sales. Using this data, supply planning ensures factories are able to meet these sales on time in the most cost effective way.

Supply management
Intelligent sourcing. This is about optimising the cost and quality of what we buy and how we buy it. Intelligent sourcing of raw materials, packaging and non-production items helps reduce costs and make our business more effective. The team explores new ways of working with suppliers and plays an important role in technology innovation.

Manufacturing
Output and costs. Our manufacturing record is one of the most envied in the world, with many of our facilities considered the best in their country. Youll help factories improve efficiencies and adapt to the changing needs of customers and consumers. As a manager, you might be responsible for a teams quality, output and costs. In engineering, you could be designing and building high-speed production lines.

Career progression
As one of the world's largest consumer goods companies, the scale and importance of our supply chain operation offers many fascinating career paths.

Access all areas

As your career progresses, youll have opportunities to work within the full spectrum of disciplines, roles and areas. You'll gain exposure at global, regional and local levels across a broad range of categories, markets and technologies. You'll take on different responsibilities that allow you to directly impact business performance. And through world-class professional learning programmes, youll develop the expertise necessary to become highly effective in your specialisation.

Qualities & skills

You're exceptionally organised with a hands-on approach and excellent IT skills. You're good at managing people, projects, information and change. You have an entrepreneurial mind when it comes to innovation and cost saving. You also have the ability to create strong links with individuals from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds.

Contact us
Do you have a question for us? Then get in touch with us
If you're interested in a career at Hindustan Unilever Limited, Please visit the career section. If you're a consumer, contact Levercare executive at Toll free number: 1800228080, 18001022221 SMS 'levercare' to 54555 (BSNL 4555) PO Box No 1470, mumbai 400099 Email: lever.care@unilever.com For queries on Pureit please write to Vikram.S@unilever.com For feedback on Lakm Salons and Ayush Therapy Centres please write tocare@lakmelever.com If you're a distributor or retailer, contact Customer Care atLevercare.customer@unilever.com If you are a journalist and need any information or have any queries, please write in tomediacentre.hul@unilever.com

If you want to know more about Hindustan Unilever Network, please contact: hun.care@unilever.com If you're an individual investor, For Share/Dividend related issues, please contact: hllshare.cmpt@unilever.com For HUL Bonus Debenture related issues, please contact: mailmanager@karvy.com If you're an institutional investor, contact: Srinivas.Phatak@unilever.com For corporate communications, contact Prasad Pradhan at P.Pradhan@unilever.comand R Rammohan at R.Ram@unilever.com For invitations to conferences, forums and participation in awards please write toCorporate.Communication-Hul@unilever.com.

Corporate Communications Department

Hindustan Unilever Limited, Unilever House, B. D. Sawant Marg, Chakala, Andheri (E), Mumbai - 400 099.

The Board
The Board of Directors of the Company represents an optimum mix of professionalism, knowledge and experience. The total strength of the Board of Directors of the Company is nine Directors, comprising Non-Executive Chairman, four Executive Directors and four Non-Executive Independent Directors.

Mr. Harish Manwani - Chairman

Mr. Harish Manwani (57) assumed charge as the Non-Executive Chairman of the Company with effect from 1st July, 2005.

Mr. Nitin Paranjpe - CEO and Managing Director

Mr. Nitin Paranjpe (48) joined the Company as a Management Trainee in 1987. In his early years in the Company, Mr. Paranjpe worked as Area Sales Manager - Detergents and then Product Manager - Detergents.

Mr. R. Sridhar - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Sridhar Ramamurthy (46) joined the Company in 1989 and worked in a number of finance and commercial roles in India till December 2002 spanning Internal Audit, Factory Commercial, Post-acquisition Integration of TOMCO with HLL, Supply Chain and Corporate Accounts.

Mr. Gopal Vittal - Executive Director, Home & Personal Care

Mr. Gopal Vittal (44) has 21 years experience in Marketing & Sales in the FMCG market, including Skin Care, Soaps and Laundry.

Mr Pradeep Banerjee - Executive Director, Supply Chain

Mr. Pradeep Banerjee (52) joined the Company as a Management Trainee in 1980.

Mr. D. S. Parekh - Independent Director

Mr. D. S. Parekh (66) is the Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited.

Mr. A. Narayan - Independent Director

Mr. A. Narayan (59) began his career as a Management Trainee with ICI India Limited (now AkzoNobel India Limited) in 1973.

Mr. S. Ramadorai - Independent Director

Mr. S. Ramadorai (66) is the Vice - Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services Limited. Mr. Ramadorai was conferred the esteemed Padma Bhushan by the President of India in recognition of his contributions to IT industry of the Country.

Dr. R. A. Mashelkar - Independent Director

Dr. R. A. Mashelkar (68), CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow, is presently also the President of Global Research Alliance, a network of publicly funded R&D institutes from Asia - Pacific, Europe and USA.