Shares of FMCG heavyweight Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) plunged nearly 4% from day’s high level after the company released its March quarter earnings report. The HUL shares slipped in red as sentiment was dented after the company said that its gross margins may moderate going forward, while the price growth is expected to be in the “low-single digit” range in the near-to-mid term.

At the time of reporting, HUL shares were trading 1.8% lower at ₹2,378 on the BSE, with a market capitalisation of ₹5.59 lakh crore. Early today, the FMCG stock opened flat at ₹2,422.15, while it rose as much as 2.6% to ₹2,486.50 before earnings announcements. Post earnings report, HUL shares dropped as much as 4.5% from day’s high level to hit a low of ₹2,378.

For the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025, HUL’s consolidate net profit declined 3.7% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹2,464 crore, missing street expectations, due to higher input costs and margin challenges. However, consolidated revenue rose 3.5% YoY to ₹15,979 crore.

The board of HUL also approved recommended a final dividend of ₹24 for the financial year ending March 31, 2025, on equity shares of ₹1 each. The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of ₹19 per share and special dividend of ₹10 per share on November 21, 2024. The total dividend for FY25 amounts to ₹53 apiece.

For the full financial year 2025, HUL’s turnover stood at ₹60,680 crore as against ₹59,579 crore in the previous fiscal. Profit after tax increased to ₹10,644 crore, from ₹10,114 crore reported in FY24. the profit before tax was ₹14,300 crore as against ₹13,675 crore for the corresponding year.

As per the company, depreciation / amortisation for the year was ₹1,224 crore compared to ₹1,097 crore in the corresponding year. The provision for taxation (including deferred tax) was ₹3,656 versus₹ 3,561 crore last year.

Going ahead, HUL expects growth to gradually improve during the year, led out of portfolio transformation and improving macro conditions. The price growth is expected to be in the “low-single digit” range at current level of commodities prices.

The gross margin is expected to moderate, with EBITDA margin expecting to be within a range of 22-23%, as the company aims to focus on driving volume led competitive growth. The FMCG major also proposes to step up investments to land portfolio transformation in high-growth demand spaces supported by a strong innovation pipeline.

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