Soaps, skin products to scale up HLL's net

Mumbai, Apr 25: Hindustan Lever is slated to report about a 30 per cent rise (about Rs 324 crore) in quarterly profit to be announced on Friday, owing to its higher soap prices and sale of premium skincare products, according to market analysts.

They said, the company - the maker Lux soap, Surf detergent and Pepsodent toothpaste - is also expected to benefit from a slower rise in prices of raw materials such as soda ash and linear alkyl benzene and tax cuts on ice creams and other processed foods.

But high oil prices will continue to put pressure on the cost of packaging and making detergents, while fierce competition would force higher advertising spending, analysts said.

HLL, owned 52 per cent by Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever Plc, and other big consumer goods makers have also benefitted from increased manufacturing capacities and tax benefits for plants in under-developed Indian States, while the introduction of value-added tax (VAT) last year has helped prevent undercutting by smaller firms, they added.

UNI