Himadri Buch
Moneycontrol News
Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India's most valuable pure-play consumer goods company, appears to be losing ground in the oral-care segment.
In a post-earnings concall with analysts and investors, HUL Chief Financial Officer Srinivas Phatak said that the company's performance in the oral care segment has been below expectations. However, he did not reveal individual category numbers.
The company includes oral care figures within the personal care segment.
"Central and North markets have performed well but overall delivery in the oral care segment was below expectations," Pathak said in a concall.
"We need to make more efforts as the market is reshaping and dynamics are changing," he said.
The CFO was quick to add that the oral care business has not been doing well across. According to analysts, a few segments like oral care continue to witness heightened competitive intensity.
In oral care, Colgate continues to report de-growth in volumes and a resultant erosion of market share. HUL has similarly lost its market share due to the popularity of Patanjali's Dant Kanti brand.
Dabur, however, has been able to improve its share, guided by its presence in South India, and new product launches.
According to the latest numbers, Colgate is a clear leader in the oral care segment with close to 54 percent market share, followed by a distant HUL with around 19 percent market share. Dabur has a market of 17 percent market share, and Patanjali has a share of little over 7 percent.
HUL today reported a 19.51 percent increase in its net profit for the September quarter to Rs 1,525 crore on account of double-digit growth across categories. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,276 crore during the same period last year.
Sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 9,138 crore, as against Rs 8,199 crore in the year-ago period, up 11.45 percent.
Pathak said while demand is expected to be stable in the near term, the company will watch out for currency depreciation and the rise in crude oil prices.
The CFO also said the company had increased prices of a few of its home-care products by 2-3 percent during the quarter gone by. The company's home-care product portfolio includes brands such as Domex, Vim and Surf Excel.
Revenue from home-care products stood at Rs 3,080 crore, up 12.44 percent, compared to Rs 2,739 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last year.
Revenue from the personal care segment during the quarter under review was at Rs 4,316 crore as against Rs 3,910 crore a year earlier, an increase of 10.38 percent.
HUL's food and refreshment product portfolio, which includes brands like Kissan, Brooke Bond Red Label, Bru, and Kwality Wall's, accounted for Rs 1,704 crore of the company's revenue during the quarter, as against Rs 1,526 crore a year earlier.
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