Hindustan Unilever posts a net profit of 885.10 crore

Mumbai, July 29 (UNI) Leading consumer products company, Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) today announced that its net profit is up by 29.6 per cent at 885.10 crore for the first quarter of the financial year compared to the corresponding period last year.

Home&Personal Care (HPC) business of the company grew by 11.1 per cent. Personal wash growth was driven by a strong performance in Lux and Breeze, a company release said.

Skin category was impacted by a planned reduction of stocks in the distribution pipeline in preparation for Fair&Lovely relaunch in July 2007. Oral Category growth was led by Close Up. During the quarter, the company launched Dove Hair Care, Clinic All Clear variants for men, Lifebuoy Skin-guard, Lakme Sun Expert and Pepsodent Centre Fresh.

Foods business registered a sales growth of 25 per cent. The beverages business grew by 21 per cent.

Mr Harish Manwani, Chairman commented, ''We have sustained our strong growth momentum across HPC and Foods businesses. The corner stone of our strategy is to continuously strengthen our portfolio and deliver consistent and profitable growth.'' UNI