HUL hits a life time high

FMCG major, HUL hit a life time high today at Rs.1405 on the back of its very robust performance for Q3FY18. It has come off the highs and is now just about holding on to the green zone with a less than 0.5% rise at Rs.1376 levels.

The results beat all estimates, mainly on the back of great performance put up by the personal care and home care segments, which together make up for over 70% of revenue earned.

HUL posted a 28% (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs.1326 crore on a 14% jump in revenue at Rs.8590 crore. Sales volume showed a good 11% growth v/s 4% contraction in previous Q3. Thus it is enjoying the benefits of a low base effect. Sequentially, there has been a 4% rise in sales volume.

EBITDA was up 45% at Rs.1680 crore while margins rose from 15.5% to 19.6%.

Following this performance, CLSA maintained its ‘Outperform’ call but raised target price from Rs.1515 to Rs.1575 and Macquarie has called HUL its “best pick in the consumer space” and maintained ‘Outperform’ with price target of Rs 1,609.