Hindustan Unilever is to announce its second quarter results. According to CNBC-TV18 estimates, the company's sales are seen up 9.81% at Rs 4423 crore versus Rs 4027.9 crore. 

Its OPM is seen up 200 bps at 13.8% versus 11.83%.

The company's adjusted PAT is seen up 12.5% at Rs 492.5 crore versus Rs 437.8 crore.

Topline Growth

* Sales growth will mainly rely on volume growth in this quarter

* HUL has taken steps to correct pricing to aid volume growth

* Personal products is expected to lead with a likely double digit growth in vols

Margins 

* In a bid to drive volume growth the co. has invested heavily in promotional spends

* Ad spends could be to the tune of Rs 500 - 600cr in the Q2 Vs 404cr YoY 

* The co has resorted to grammage increases and price reductions especially in HPC

* Margin expansion on lower input costs YoY could be restricted due to the above reasons

Bottomline

* The Baddi and Uttaranchal facilities go into a 30% tax holiday bracket Vs 100% earlier

* Tax outgo would be higher

* Higher adspends and lower other operational income could also restrict bottomline growth