HUL revenue rises 10% in Q1 as brokerages cut targets despite constructive outlook

Hindustan Unilever reported Q1 revenue of Rs 17,341 crore, up 10% year-on-year, while net profit fell 3% to Rs 2,673 crore. Underlying volume growth was 5%, with Home Care up 13%. Goldman Sachs and Citi lowered targets but retained a broadly positive view on demand, premiumisation and margins.

— Source publishedWed, 29 Jul, 2026, 08:06 IST·First seen Wed, 29 Jul, 2026, 08:55 IST·Source NDTV Profit

What happened

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) · HUL’s Q1 revenue rose 10% but profit fell 3% and volume growth reached 5%, below expectations. Brokerages retained broadly

Key facts

  • Q1 revenue: Rs. 17,341 crore, up 10% YoY
  • Q1 EBITDA: Rs. 3,947 crore, up 8.4% YoY
  • EBITDA margin: 22.8% vs 23.1% YoY
  • Net profit: Rs. 2,673 crore, down 3% YoY
  • Underlying volume growth: 5%
  • Home Care revenue: Rs. 6,554 crore, up 13% YoY
  • Personal Care revenue: Rs. 2,624 crore, up 3% YoY
  • Goldman Sachs target: Rs. 2,450, cut from Rs. 2,725
  • Citi target: Rs. 2,650, cut from Rs. 2,750

Why this matters

HUL’s strength in Home Care and premiumisation highlights attractive adjacencies for partnerships or acquisitions in higher-value household, wellness and convenience categories.

What to watch

  • Underlying volume growth holding above 5% for the next two quarters.
  • Rural demand indicators, monsoon distribution, farm income trends and FMCG volume growth in smaller towns.
  • Urban discretionary demand, especially premium beauty, personal care and food categories.
  • Sequential Home Care growth and whether its 13% expansion broadens to other divisions.
  • Gross-margin movement versus palm oil, crude-linked packaging, tea, dairy and other key input costs.
  • Advertising and promotion spend as a percentage of sales and evidence of rising discounting.
  • Management commentary on pricing actions, downtrading, premiumisation and competitive intensity.
  • Further brokerage earnings-estimate revisions and whether target cuts are driven by valuation or lower profit forecasts.
  • Increase advertising and promotional investment selectively in high-growth premium and rural-facing categories.
  • Use Home Care momentum to defend distribution gains and cross-sell premium cleaning, hygiene and convenience products.
  • Prioritise grammage, packs and price points that preserve mass-market affordability as price growth fades.
  • Accelerate premiumisation in Beauty & Wellbeing, health, nutrition and digital-first brands to improve mix.
  • Maintain tight cost control and commodity hedging to convert input-cost relief into margin resilience rather than broad price cuts.
  • Provide clearer disclosure on rural versus urban volumes, category growth and margin drivers to counter target-price cuts.