Angel Broking has recommended an accumulate rating on Hindustan Unilever with a target price of Rs 276 in its April 29, 2008 research report. "For 1QCY2008, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) posted a solid Topline growth of 19.1% yoy (highest quarterly growth since 2002) to Rs 3,794 crore (Rs 3,184 crore), beating our expectation of 14.7% growth to Rs 3,652 crore. Topline growth was largely led by a strong 19.4% growth (volume growth of 10.2%) in the company’s core FMCG business backed by 19.9% growth in the Soaps/Detergents segment (aided by price hikes and marketshare gains in the Laundry segment) and 23.5% growth in Personal Products segment (aided by low base, extended winter and re-launch of several brands).

"We have revised our Target Price upwards to Rs 276 (Rs 237) as we introduce CY2009E numbers and assign a P/E multiple of 25x to our CY2009E EPS of Rs11.1. We believe HUL’s accelerated sales growth momentum, revival in its Personal Products portfolio and scale up of new businesses would help it sustain premium valuations. While inflationary pressures remain a key cause of concern, we believe HUL is well placed to combat such pressures owing to its cost saving initiatives, wide product portfolio mix and ability to undertake price hikes owing to strong brands. At the CMP of Rs251, the stock is trading at 22.7x CY2009E EPS of Rs11.1 and 21.5x EV/EBITDA. We recommend an Accumulate rating on the stock, with a revised Target Price of Rs 276 (Rs 237), says Angel's research report"

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