Mumbai, Oct 24, 2024, IANS

Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS) Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) fell over 6 per cent on Thursday following the company's reported weak performance in the September quarter. At 1.08 p.m., HUL shares were at Rs 2,485, down 6.67 per cent. HUL's standalone net profit for Q2 FY25 dropped by 4 per cent to Rs 2,612 crore, down from Rs 2,717 crore reported in the same period last year. However, the revenue from operations was up 2 per cent to Rs 15,319 crore, compared to Rs 15,027 crore in the same quarter of the last financial year. The reasons behind the fall in quarterly profit are high raw material costs and a slow recovery in rural demand. Despite weak results, HUL has announced a dividend of Rs 29 per share. Its record date has been fixed as November 6. After the weak results, brokerage house Nuvama has maintained a 'buy' rating on HUL and raised its target price to Rs 3,395 from Rs 3,375 earlier. The brokerage house says that rural markets are expected to recover, which will support HUL's growth in the second half of the financial year and beyond. Motilal Oswal says that HUL may see recovery in the coming quarter. The brokerage house has cut its earnings per share (EPS) by 2 per cent for FY25 and FY26. HDFC Securities also maintained a 'buy' rating on HUL with a target price of Rs 3,200. The brokerage house believes the bad phase of low volume growth, price adjustment and the slowdown in rural demand is over. Axis Securities said that although the company’s overall Q2FY25 results missed our estimates on all fronts, it remains committed to premiumisation through continuous innovation, helping it gain market share. HUL's Home Care segment had posted impressive growth of 8 per cent YoY, driven by a robust liquid portfolio with strong double-digit gains. The brokerage firm reduced its target price to Rs Rs 2,920 per share from Rs 3,030 per share earlier.