Hindustan Unilever Ltd Q3 net profit up 16% at Rs 871 cr

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd today reported a 15.59 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 871.36 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012, on account of robust sales across various business verticals.

The company's board has approved a proposal to increase the royalty payment to 3.15 per cent to its parent firm Unilever Plc. The amount, equivalent to 3.15 per cent of total turnover, would be paid for various provisions related to trademark licenses and technology, among others.

The Mumbai-headquartered firm had posted a net profit of Rs 753.81 crore during the same period of the previous fiscal.

Net sales of the company rose to Rs 6,433.69 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2012, as against Rs 5,844.31 crore during the same period of 2011-12 fiscal, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said in a statement.

The company said its board, in a meeting held today, approved a proposal to enter into a new pact with Unilever Plc, with effect from February 1 for various provisions of technology, trademark licences and other services.

"The new agreement envisages that the existing royalty cost of 1.4 per cent of turnover will increase, in a phased manner, to a royalty cost of 3.15 per cent of turnover no later than the financial year ending March 2018," HUL said.

The company said the increase in royalty cost, in the period from February 1, 2013 to March 2014 is estimated to be 0.5 per cent of turnover and thereafter in a range of 0.3 per cent to 0.7 per cent of turnover in each financial year, leading up to a total estimated increase of 1.75 per cent by March 2018.

"Given the need for increased levels of service and the consequential additional costs, Unilever asked for a review of the royalty arrangements in order to ensure a fair recovery of costs," the company said.

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