Hindustan Lever quarterly profit drops 15pc
AFP, New Delhi
India's biggest consumer goods company, Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), said Friday first quarter profit fell 15 percent, despite strong sales because of higher raw material costs. Shares of the company, a unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, slid 5.4 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange to 135.65 rupees on the back of the announcement. HLL, which makes Surf and Wheel detergents, Lipton tea and Close Up toothpaste, said net profit during the January to March quarter fell to 2.59 billion rupees (60.23 million dollars) from 3.03 billion rupees a year earlier. Sales for the quarter rose 6.9 percent to 25.06 billion rupees from 23.53 billion rupees a year earlier. M.S. Banga, chairman of HLL, said the decline was due to "unprecedented crude oil-related input costs."
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