Hindustan Unilever has marked a sharp turnaround in performance, putting up a volume growth of 6 per cent in the April-June 2014 quarter. Volume growth had been mired in the 3-5 per cent range from the December 2012 quarter.

What helped was a bounce-back of marquee brand Fair & Lovely, which was re-launched in the September 2013 quarter. The previously struggling personal care segment grew sales by 15 per cent, a significant improvement from the 12 per cent it was averaging in earlier quarters. The segment’s profit too, rocketed 27 per cent from the earlier single-digit growth.

Dominance helps

In soaps, HUL gained from its dominance of the market through brands such as Lux and Dove. Price hikes were pushed through, and the soaps and laundry segment grew sales 13 per cent in the June 2014 quarter over the year-ago period. The ability of FMCG companies to grow sales well, in segments where they are market leaders, is borne out in the results of Godrej Consumer and Dabur India.

For Godrej, soaps, where it is second to HUL were still sluggish. Price-led growth was at 2 per cent in the June 2014 quarter, on par with the 1 per cent in the March 2014 quarter. But in hair colours, where Godrej is the market leader, sales growth was strong at 14 per cent.

Similarly, Dabur posted a healthy 22-24 per cent growth in health supplements and fruit juices in the June 2014 quarter, where it rules strong, building on an 18 per cent and 21 per cent growth in the March 2014 quarter.

But in oral care, where it battles the likes of Colgate, P&G Hygiene and HUL, sales growth dropped to 8 per cent from the double-digit numbers in preceding quarters; skin-care too, slowed down to 4.4 per cent in the June 2014 quarter.

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