HUL ramps up ad spends in Q2, up nearly 11%

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) stepped up its advertising and promotional investments in the September quarter by 10.66%, spending Rs 1,661 crore compared with Rs 1,501 crore in the same period last year and Rs 1,656 crore in the June quarter.

 Revenue from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, stood at ?16,034 crore, a 2.1% rise year-on-year from ?15,703 crore in Q2 FY25, though down 1.6% sequentially from ?16,296 crore reported in the June quarter. Total income came in at ?16,388 crore, compared with ?16,145 crore a year ago and ?16,715 crore in the previous quarter.

Total expenses increased to ?12,999 crore, up from ?12,581 crore in Q2 FY25, though marginally lower than ?13,284 crore in the preceding quarter. Cost of materials consumed rose to ?5,746 crore from ?5,005 crore a year earlier, while employee benefits expense stood at ?750 crore against ?822 crore in Q1 FY26.

Operating profit before exceptional items and tax stood at ?3,389 crore, lower than ?3,564 crore in the year-ago quarter and ?3,431 crore in Q1 FY26. Net profit for the quarter came in at ?2,694 crore, up 3.8% year-on-year from ?2,595 crore but down 2.7% sequentially from ?2,768 crore in the June quarter.

For the six months ended September 30, 2025, HUL’s total advertising and promotion outlay rose to ?3,317 crore from ?3,182 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue from operations for the first half of FY26 stood at ?32,330 crore, up 3.6% from ?31,200 crore in the corresponding period last year. Total income rose to ?33,103 crore from ?32,109 crore in H1 FY25.

Total expenses for the half year increased to ?26,283 crore from ?24,966 crore, largely driven by higher material costs of ?11,213 crore (up from ?9,879 crore YoY) and greater advertising spends.

 Operating profit before exceptional items and tax came in at ?6,820 crore, compared with ?7,143 crore a year earlier. Net profit for the six months stood at ?5,462 crore, up 4.9% from ?5,207 crore in H1 FY25.

Beauty & Wellbeing recorded the sharpest year-on-year growth at 9% to ?3,732 crore, compared with ?3,421 crore in Q2 FY25. Foods also expanded 1.7% to ?3,869 crore, up from ?3,803 crore a year earlier.

Home Care, which contributes the largest share of sales, reported a mild 1% decline to ?5,664 crore against ?5,731 crore in Q2 FY25, reflecting subdued rural offtake. Personal Care was largely flat at ?2,425 crore (?2,411 crore last year), while the “Others” segment, including exports, eased slightly to ?551 crore from ?560 crore.

Sequentially, revenue slipped 1.7% from ?16,514 crore in Q1 FY26, mainly due to soft Home Care volumes and base impact in discretionary categories.

For the six months ended September 30, 2025, total segment revenue rose 3.5% year-on-year to ?32,755 crore from ?31,633 crore in H1 FY25. The growth was led by Beauty & Wellbeing, up 9.8% to ?7,363 crore, and Foods, up 3% to ?7,885 crore. Home Care remained stable at ?11,441 crore versus ?11,404 crore last year, while Personal Care rose marginally to ?4,965 crore from ?4,797 crore.