Hindustan Unilever Q2 FY27 results: net profit up 3.8% to ₹2,796 crore, revenue up 12.2%

How did Hindustan Unilever perform in Q2 FY27?

Hindustan Unilever’s consolidated Q2 FY27 revenue was ₹18,226 crore, compared with ₹16,241 crore in Q2 FY26 and ₹17,341 crore in Q1 FY27. Revenue was 12.2% higher year on year and 5.1% higher sequentially. EBITDA was ₹4,089 crore, up 9.7% from ₹3,729 crore a year ago and 3.6% from ₹3,947 crore in the previous quarter.

The EBITDA margin was 22.4% in Q2 FY27, down 0.6 percentage points from 23.0% in Q2 FY26 and 0.4 percentage points from 22.8% in Q1 FY27. Profit before tax was ₹3,814 crore, while the net profit was ₹2,796 crore. Basic EPS was ₹11.87, compared with ₹11.43 a year ago and ₹11.38 in the previous quarter.

On a standalone basis, Q2 FY27 revenue was ₹17,543 crore, 12.6% higher than the previous year, while profit after tax was ₹2,844 crore against ₹2,690 crore before exceptional items. The company also filed unaudited standalone and consolidated results for the quarter and half year ended 30 September 2026.

What changed in Hindustan Unilever's costs and profit?

Total expenses were ₹14,574 crore in Q2 FY27, up ₹1,575 crore or 12.1% from ₹12,999 crore in Q2 FY26. Cost of materials rose ₹662 crore to ₹6,408 crore, employee cost increased ₹102 crore to ₹852 crore, and depreciation was ₹363 crore, up ₹5 crore. Finance costs fell ₹55 crore to ₹74 crore, while other expenses declined ₹139 crore to ₹3,730 crore.

Other income was ₹160 crore, up ₹13 crore from ₹147 crore a year ago. The quarter recorded an exceptional gain of ₹2 crore, against an exceptional gain of ₹184 crore in Q2 FY26. Tax expense increased ₹142 crore to ₹1,018 crore from ₹876 crore.

The filing states that reported profit after tax was flat because the base period included one-off tax-related gains of ₹273 crore in exceptional items. Profit after tax before exceptional items grew 9% year on year. The filing does not provide a separate explanation for the increase in cost of materials or employee costs.

How did the first half of FY27 go?

In the first half of FY27, consolidated revenue was ₹35,567 crore, up ₹2,812 crore or 8.6% from ₹32,755 crore in H1 FY26. Total income rose 8.5% to ₹35,915 crore, while profit before tax increased 8.3% to ₹7,446 crore.

H1 FY27 net profit was ₹5,476 crore, compared with ₹5,462 crore in H1 FY26, an increase of ₹14 crore or 0.3%. Basic EPS was ₹23.25, against ₹23.16 in the prior-year first half. The earnings call said first-half turnover was ₹35,255 crore, with underlying sales growth of 12% and underlying volume growth of 6%.

What do the balance sheet and cash flow show?

At 30 September 2026, total assets were ₹82,907 crore, compared with ₹79,752 crore at 31 March 2026. Total equity was ₹49,111 crore against ₹49,008 crore, while borrowings were ₹14 crore compared with ₹0.00 crore. Cash was ₹1,798 crore, down from ₹2,583 crore.

Inventories increased to ₹5,126 crore from ₹4,789 crore, trade receivables to ₹3,698 crore from ₹3,379 crore, and trade payables to ₹16,052 crore from ₹13,325 crore. H1 FY27 operating cash flow was ₹8,022 crore, compared with ₹6,267 crore in H1 FY26; investing cash flow was -₹3,345 crore against -₹4,018 crore, and financing cash flow was -₹5,462 crore against -₹5,992 crore.

Capital expenditure was ₹661 crore in H1 FY27, compared with ₹617 crore in H1 FY26. The company’s filing did not state a reason for the changes in these balance-sheet and cash-flow items.

How has Hindustan Unilever done over the last 8 quarters?

Revenue has risen year on year in each of the last eight quarters. It reached ₹18,226 crore in Q2 FY27, the highest in the eight-quarter series, after ₹17,341 crore in Q1 FY27. The lowest quarterly revenue in the series was ₹15,670 crore in Q4 FY25.

Reported profit was uneven: it reached ₹6,603 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with ₹2,475 crore in Q4 FY25, before moving to ₹2,680 crore in Q1 FY27 and ₹2,796 crore in Q2 FY27. The current direction was higher from the previous quarter, but remained below the Q3 FY26 level.

EBITDA margin was 23.5% in Q4 FY26, the highest in the series, and 22.4% in Q2 FY27, the lowest. The margin declined from 22.8% in Q1 FY27 to 22.4% in the latest quarter.

Which businesses drove the quarter?

Home Care reported revenue of ₹6,878 crore, up 21.4% from ₹5,664 crore in Q2 FY26, with EBIT of ₹1,111 crore against ₹1,083 crore. Its EBIT margin was 16.2%. Beauty & Wellbeing revenue was ₹4,319 crore, up 15.7% from ₹3,732 crore, while EBIT rose to ₹1,235 crore from ₹1,061 crore; the EBIT margin was 28.6%.

Personal Care revenue was ₹2,617 crore, 7.9% higher than ₹2,425 crore in Q2 FY26, with EBIT of ₹449 crore compared with ₹492 crore and an EBIT margin of 17.2%. Foods revenue was ₹3,849 crore, down 0.5% from ₹3,869 crore, while EBIT increased to ₹834 crore from ₹629 crore; the EBIT margin was 21.7%.

Others, which includes exports, reported revenue of ₹563 crore against ₹551 crore and EBIT of ₹97 crore against ₹106 crore. The segment’s EBIT margin was 17.2%. The filing separately stated that Home Care delivered 22% underlying sales growth, Beauty & Wellbeing 16%, and Personal Care and Foods 9% each.

What else did the company announce?

The board approved the unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results for the quarter and half year ended 30 September 2026. It also declared an interim dividend of ₹19 per equity share of face value of ₹1 each for the financial year ending 31 March 2027.

The record date for determining shareholder entitlement was fixed as Thursday, 12 November 2026, and the dividend was scheduled for payment on Wednesday, 25 November 2026. The same-day filing did not report a fund raise or any appointment. An investor presentation and the auditors’ limited review report were also filed with the results.

What did Hindustan Unilever's management say?

Management said volume growth reached 7%, with sequential improvement despite 8% pricing, and maintained medium-term EBITDA margin guidance of 22% to 24%. The company expects calibrated price increases in measured steps to recover the absolute impact of input-cost inflation, while structural gross-margin improvement is expected over a 3-5-year horizon without a numeric recovery timeline.

CEO and Managing Director Priya Nair said, “we have actually seen a sequential increase in our rural growth and our rural demand is on the rise. We see both urban and rural growing at this moment.” Management also said general trade coverage expanded by 30,000 outlets, with assortment growth remaining double digit, and remained confident of growing ahead of the market.

CFO Niranjan Gupta said, “you can recover margin in a hurry. You don't recover market share and growth in a hurry.” He also said, “We expect medium-term EBITDA Margin to be within the current guided range of 22% to 24%.” Management identified elevated commodity inflation, the price-to-cost lag, possible further pricing, rural demand and Home Care margins as risks.

How did Hindustan Unilever shares react?

The stock was up 0.3% five minutes after the filing appeared in the market, while it was down 0.4% after 30 minutes. It closed 0.1% lower on the reaction day from its pre-results close, matching the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector median, while the Nifty 100 fell 0.2%.

By the next day's close, the stock was up 2.6% from its pre-results close, compared with a 0.6% sector-median gain and a 0.9% Nifty 100 gain. By the fifth-session close, it was up 8.2%, versus a 2.0% sector-median gain and a 5.3% Nifty 100 gain. Its excess returns over the sector median were 2.0 percentage points after one session and 6.2 percentage points after five sessions.

Earlier reaction-day moves were mixed: the stock fell 7.1% on 28 July 2026, 2.7% on 30 April 2026 and 2.1% on 12 February 2026, while it rose 0.5% on 23 October 2025 and 3.7% on 31 July 2025.