HUL Shares Fall Nearly 4% on Thursday; Stock Reverses Sharply After Brief Results-Driven Spike

Mumbai, April 30: Shares of Hindustan Unilever fell sharply on Thursday, with the stock last trading at ₹2,223.60, down ₹90.80 or 3.92% from Wednesday’s closing price of ₹2,314.40. The stock opened at around ₹2,320 in pre-open trade before gapping down to approximately ₹2,290 at market open around 9:15 am, immediately trading below Wednesday’s close.

From there, the stock gradually recovered through the morning, grinding higher from ₹2,285 around 9:20 am to ₹2,305 by 10:15 am in a slow but steady intraday climb. However, a sharp spike around 10:30 am — likely triggered by the release of quarterly results — briefly pushed the stock to an intraday high of around ₹2,360, before an equally sharp and aggressive reversal set in, dragging the stock all the way down to approximately ₹2,220 by 11:15 am, a fall of nearly ₹140 or 5.6% from the intraday peak in under an hour. 

Weekly Trend  

Over the past week, HUL’s stock has been largely range-bound with a downward bias, starting around ₹2,352 on April 23, declining to ₹2,325 on April 24, holding near those levels through April 27, before plunging to ₹2,288 on April 28 and partially recovering to ₹2,317 before Wednesday’s fresh selloff pushed the one-week return to negative 6.19%, significantly underperforming the Nifty 50’s decline of 1.53%.

Order Book 

The limit order book at last update was moderately sell-side dominant, with 58.72% of total order quantity on the ask side (1,57,715 shares) versus 41.28% on the bid side (1,10,865 shares), reflecting continued selling pressure. The best bid stood at ₹2,227 with 52 shares and the best ask at ₹2,227.60 with 97 shares — a tight spread of just ₹0.60 — though the sell-side overhang suggests near-term resistance for any meaningful price recovery.

HUL Q4 FY26: PAT Rises 20%, Revenue Grows 8% in Strongest Quarter in 3 Years 

Hindustan Unilever Limited delivered its strongest quarterly performance in 12 quarters, with consolidated reported Profit After Tax (PAT) for Q4 FY26 jumping 20% year-on-year to ₹3,002 crore — boosted by proceeds from the divestment of its stake in Nutritionalab Pvt. Ltd. Stripping out the exceptional item, PAT before exceptional items grew a more measured 4% year-on-year to ₹2,711 crore, reflecting the underlying earnings trajectory of the business amid commodity and currency headwinds from the Iran-driven geopolitical environment. 

Consolidated revenue from operations for Q4 FY26 stood at ₹16,207 crore, up 8% year-on-year — the company’s highest revenue growth in 12 quarters. The growth was volume-led, with Underlying Volume Growth of 6% and Underlying Sales Growth of 7%, signalling that the demand recovery in India’s FMCG market is broadening meaningfully across both urban and rural channels. 

EBITDA for the quarter came in at ₹3,841 crore, up 6% year-on-year, with the EBITDA margin at 23.7% — improving 40 basis points sequentially, though marginally below the revenue growth rate, reflecting continued cost pressures in input materials. 

Full Year FY26 

For the full financial year FY26, HUL reported consolidated revenue of ₹63,763 crore, up 5% over FY25, driven by 4% Underlying Volume Growth. EBITDA margin for the full year held at 23.6% — at the higher end of the company’s own guidance range, a creditable outcome given commodity volatility through the year. PAT before exceptional items for FY26 stood at ₹10,324 crore, while reported PAT came in at ₹10,652 crore. 

Dividend 

The Board proposed a final dividend of ₹22 per share, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM. Combined with the interim dividend of ₹19 per share declared in October 2025, the total dividend for FY26 amounts to ₹41 per share, with the total dividend payout for the year aggregating to ₹9,633 crore — a substantial return of capital that underscores HUL’s confidence in its cash generation and financial position.