Research And Views Archives

HLL: Topline revival continues...
(Company Info)

Oct 30, 2003

FMCG major, Hindustan Lever, continues to improve on its revenue growth. The company has declared just over 4% growth in topline during the September quarter. However, a higher interest outgo (relating to the 9% debentures to shareholders) has seen profit before tax dip by a marginal 1.5%. The company has earned Rs 351 m as net extraordinary income, enabling it to post a 7% bottomline growth.

HLL: Showing strength
(Company Info)

Jul 31, 2003

FMCG major HLL has reported enthusing results for the June quarter. The company has reported a 3% topline and a 12.6% net profit growth (excluding extraordinary items). The company's operating margins have improved by 70 basis points during the quarter.

HLL: Revenues recover marginally
(Company Info)

Apr 16, 2003

Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) has posted a marginal 1.2% growth in topline during the March quarter. However, the company's bottomline is down 11% YoY. However, if we exclude the extraordinary income which HLL earned during previous year's March quarter, then the bottomline is up 8% YoY.

HLL: Topline blues continue…
(Company Info)

Oct 25, 2002

FMCG major, Hindustan Lever, has once again reported disappointing topline numbers. Sales in 3QFY03 have fallen by over 7%. But the company's operating margins continue to expand (up 360 basis points), indicating improvement in quality of earnings. The company has reported a marginal 4% growth in net profits. But this is as a result of extraordinary income effect (Rs 215 m) reported in 3QFY02. Excluding extraordinary items effect in both years, the bottomline has actually improved by over 11% Yo

HLL: Signs of quality earnings
(Company Info)

Jul 22, 2002

FMCG major, Hindustan Lever, has once again reported disappointing topline numbers. Sales in 2QFY03 have fallen by nearly 9%. But the company's operating margins continue to expand, indicating improvement in quality of earnings. The company has reported a 4% dip in net profits. But this is as a result of a huge extraordinary income (Rs 1.2 bn) reported in 2QFY02. Excluding extraordinary income effect in both years, the bottomline has actually improved by 16% YoY.

HLL: Topline hiccups, strategy on course
(Company Info)

Apr 15, 2002

FMCG major, Hindustan Lever (HLL), has declared an unprecedented 10% decline in 1QFY03 topline. The decline has come in the wake of a continuing slide in several key markets like personal wash, oral care and tea. The management also indicated that a move to improve gross margins of the foods business through improved realisations and efficiencies, also impacted volumes.

Insecticides: Operation ‘hit’
(Sector Focus)

Nov 24, 2001

The Rs 6 bn household insecticide industry can be classified as two sub segments. One segment is the insect repellents, which comprise mats, coils, vapourizers, lotions and creams. The other segment are the insect killers comprising aerosols, oil based sprays and baits, and chalks.

Competition ahoy…
(Company Focus)

Nov 24, 2001

Reckitt Benckiser India Limited (formerly Reckitt & Colman India) is India's leading player in the house cleaning, lavatory care, floor/shoe polishes, fabric care, insect repellants, ultramarine blue and anti-septic liquid segments. Reckitt has strong brands in each of its product segments. These include Dettol (antiseptic soap), Robin (liquid bleach), Cherry Blossom (shoe polish), Harpic (toilet cleaner), Mortein (insect repellent), Lizol (disinfectant), Colin (glass cleaner), anti-cold (Dispri

HLL: 3QFY02 topline beats estimates
(Company Info)

Oct 16, 2001

FMCG bellwether, Hindustan Lever, has beaten expectations on the turnover growth front. As per the numbers available, the company's turnover has shown an impressive 7% growth in topline. This is in contrast to a flattish growth in topline during the first half of FY02 (up 1.5% YoY).

HLL: A curtain raiser
(Company Info)

Oct 16, 2001

FMCG bellwether, Hindustan Lever, is set to announce its third quarter results today. We take a quick glance at what has happened so far in FY02 and also preview what to expect.

Marico: Pricing pressure
(Company Info)

Aug 6, 2001

Edible oil major, Marico, has recently declared its first quarter FY02 results. It declared a marginal 1.3% growth in sales YoY and over 7% growth in its bottomline.

Colgate: Expenses cast shadow
(Company Info)

Jul 27, 2001

Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited has reported a net profit of Rs 158 m in 1QFY02. This is up around 18% over first quarter of the previous year. Net sales have increased by around 7% to Rs 3,066 m during the quarter under review. These results are much better than what Colgate declared in the last quarter in terms of topline growth.

Reckitt 2QFY02: Tax blues
(Company Info)

Jul 24, 2001

Reckitt Benckiser (India) Limited (formerly Reckitt & Colman of India) has recorded a 3.2% decline in turnover in 2QFY02. The downturn in the economy has taken a toll on the company's turnover growth, which stood at 16% in FY01. The company's net profit has slumped by 55% to Rs 37 m on account of higher taxes.

HLL: Beats expectations, but sales sluggish
(Company Info)

Jul 24, 2001

Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) has reported a net profit growth of 21% in its 2QFY02 to Rs 3,467 m. Net sales growth continue to be slack. Sales have grown by 1.8% during the quarter to Rs 29,313 m. Other income was up 18% to Rs 912 m.

Henkel: Good 2QFY02 show
(Company Info)

Jul 17, 2001

Henkel Spic India has made a comeback in the second quarter of FY02. Post the dismal results recorded in the first quarter, an 80% jump in 2QFY02 does sound good. The company also recorded an encouraging 11% YoY growth in net sales during this quarter.

Product innovation will spell success
(Sector Focus)

Jul 14, 2001

There was time when as little kids we used to watch our dad get up and get ready to go for office. He would brush, go through his normal routine and then get down to shave. After massaging the lather with his wooden shave brush, he would finally take out a Topaz blade, adjust it to his old style razor and start shaving. While shaving, he used to keep the ice handy, because he nicked himself more often than not. When done, you would see him wash off the remaining lather with plain water. If you c

Steady progress but short-term hiccups
(Company Focus)

Jul 14, 2001

Warren Buffet once commented, “I go to sleep in peace every night realising that every morning when I wake up, millions of men will wake up with me and shave”. Mr. Buffet made this happy reference while explaining his rationale for investing in the shaving products major, Gillette. For Gillette India, the same rationale holds true.

Colgate FY01: Where is the smile?
(Company Info)

Jun 18, 2001

Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited has posted a net profit of Rs 625 m for the year ended March 31, 2001. This is up 21% YoY. On the face of it the growth looks good. But the company has earned Rs 55 m from the sale of real estate and this is included in this growth. If we remove the effect of this one time gain, Colgate's net profit actually went up by only 10%.

Subsidiary concerns cloud valuations...
(Company Focus)

Jun 2, 2001

A large part of the Indian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) landscape is filled with companies vying for a plethora of product categories. Expanding product portfolios is an inherent strategy of the FMCG companies in India and all over the world. The aim has always been garner a great share of the consumer pie.

Henkel: Slowdown catches up
(Company Info)

May 22, 2001

Henkel Spic India has declared a 75% drop in its 1QFY02 earnings, despite a marginal 2% turnover growth during the same period. An 8% jump in its expenditure is largely responsible for this. A Rs 4 m decline in its other income also contributed to the decline in profits.