HUL LOOKS Bullish From HereAbout
Hindustan Unilever is in the FMCG business comprising primarily of Home Care, Beauty & Personal Care and Foods & Refreshment segments. The Company has manufacturing facilities across the country and sells primarily in India.
Key Points
Business Segments & Brand Portfolio
The company has a portfolio of over 50 brands, spanning 16 FMCG categories, including 19 brands with a turnover of more than Rs. 1,000 Cr PA. The products are split into the following segments:
1) Home Care (36% in H1 FY25 vs 32% in FY22): The company offers detergent bars, detergent powders, detergent liquids, scourers, purifiers, etc under its brands such as Surf excel, Wheel, Rin, Comfort, Vim, and Domex. The segment revenue grew by 32% between FY22 and FY24, driven by volume growth in the Fabric and Household Care business with a negative price growth.
2) Beauty & Personal Care (36% in H1 FY25 vs 37% in FY22): The company offers products in the categories of oral care, skin care, soaps, hair care, deodorants, talcum powder, color cosmetics, salon services, etc under the brands like Sunsilk, Vaseline, Glow & Lovely, Lakme, Lifebuoy, Ponds, Dove, Closeup, and more. The segment revenue grew by 15% between FY22 and FY24, driven by volume growth.
3) Foods and Refreshments (14% in H1 FY25 vs 27% in FY22): The company offers culinary products like tomato-based products, fruit-based products, soups, etc, tea, coffee, nutrition drinks, ice-cream, and frozen desserts, through brands like Brooke Bond, Lipton, Horlicks, Boost, Bru, Kissan, Knorr, Hellmannโs, Kwality Walls and Magnum. The segment revenue grew by 8% between FY22 and FY24, with a Mid-single-digit volume growth driven by pricing.
4) Other (3% in Q1 FY25 vs 4% in FY22): The segment includes exports, consignment etc. It aims to export brands, such as Vaseline, Dove, Pears, Bru, Red Label, Lakmฤ, Horlicks, and Boost, to effectively provide cross-border sourcing of FMCG products to other Unilever companies worldwide.
Market Leader
The companyโs brands hold the top 2 spots in most categories where it has a presence. It has a stable brand power in 75% of its businesses.
New Product Launches
In FY24, the company launched various new products including a range of Lakme cosmetics, sun-care products under Glow and Lovely, Ponds and Lakme skin, and a sensitive skin cleansing range by Dove. In the Ice Cream portfolio, it launched Feast Crackle, under the partnership with Cadbury. It launched a range of flavored coffee under Bru Gold. Similarly, Knorr launched Korean noodles in new flavors like Kimchi and Jjajangmyeon. It has expanded its premium portfolio with these launches and re-launched other existing products in premium formats, which contributed to 25% of the total revenue in FY24.
Distribution Network
The company has a presence in 9 out of 10 Indian with over 9 million retail outlets spread across India through a network of 35 distribution hubs and more than 3,500 distributors.
Manufacturing Capabilities
The company has over 28 owned factories in India and over 50 manufacturing partners, that produce over 75 billion units annually. It manufactures over 250 SKUs at its nano-factories. Its Dapada and Sonepat factories have the title of โEnd-to-End Lighthouseโ, awarded by the World Economic Forum for implementing advanced fourth industrial revolution solutions.
R&D
The company has 6 global R&D centers in 5 countries with over 5,000 professionals, including 3 centers in India, with over 20,000 patents, patent applications, and deep science and technology expertise in emerging areas such as Renewable Consumers Ingredients, Next Generation Biology, and Positive Nutrition.
Divestment
In July 2024, the company approved the sale of its's Water Purification business carried under the brand 'Pureit', to A. O. Smith India Water Products Private Limited, for Rs. 601 Cr.
Focus
The company is focused on driving competitive volume-led growth and actions to improve skin cleansing business performance. It expects the EBITDA margin to remain at current levels of 23-24%.
