Brands
HUL marketing expenses down in Q2-17, HY1-17
BENGALURU: Indian FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) spent 7.6 per cent less towards Advertisement and Promotions expense (marketing spends, ASP) in the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current year) as compared to Q2-16(year-over-year or y-o-y) on a standalone basis. Also, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) ASP declined 3.2 per cent in the current quarter as compared the immediate trailing quarter Q1-17. HUL spent Rs 851.38 crore (10 per cent of Total income from operations or TIO) in Q2-17, Rs 921.04 crore (11 per cent of TIO) in Q2-16 and Rs 879.75 crore (10 per cent of TIO) in Q1-17 towards ASP.
ASP was also down, both in terms of absolute rupees as well as percentage of TIO during the half year ended 30 September 2016 (HY1-17) versus the corresponding half year period of the previous year. As a matter of fact, ASP in HY1-17 was the lowest since HY1-13.
HUL chairman Harish Manwani said, “In challenging market conditions, we delivered another quarter of profitable growth. We remain focused on market development, consumer led innovations and an even sharper drive on operating efficiencies. With a good monsoon, weexpect a gradual improvement in market demand and remain positive on the mid-long term outlook for the industry. Our strategic agenda of delivering consistent, competitive, profitable and responsible growth remains unchanged.”
Trends
During aneighteen quarter period starting Q1-13 until Q2-17, HUL’s ASP in Q4-15 was the highest in absolute rupees at Rs1,027.89 crore (13.4 per cent of TIO), while in terms of per centage of TIO in current fiscal, it was highest in Q2-14 at Rs954.02 crore (13.8 per cent of TIO). Please refer to Fig A below. ASP shows linear increasing trend in terms of absolute rupees while in terms of ASP as per centage of TIO, the trend shows a decline during the eighteen quarter period under consideration in this report.
Please refer to Fig B below. HUL’s ASP in HY1-17 at Rs 1,731.13 (10 per cent of TIO) was 4.6 per cent lower than the Rs 1,813.77 crore (11.2 per cent of TIO) in HY1-16. As is obvious, HY1-17 ASP is the lowest over a five year period starting HY1-13 in terms of per centage of TIO and second lowest during the same period in terms of absolute rupees. ASP during the first half period of a fiscal shows a declining trend in terms of per centage of TIO during the period HY1-13 to HY1-17.
The company’s TIO in the current quarter increased 1.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs8.480.26 crore as compared to Rs8,348.60 crore but declined 3.7 per cent q-o-q from Rs8,802.82 crore q-o-q. Please refer to Fig C below. TIO represented by the broken light blue line shows a linear increasing trend during the eighteen quarter period under consideration in this report.
HUL’s Profit after Tax (PAT) in Q2-17 increased11.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 1,095.60 crore (12.9 per cent margin) as compared to Rs982.06 crore (11.8 per cent margin) and increased by 11.5 per cent q-o-q from Rs 982.17 crore (11.2 per cent margin). PAT shows a linear decreasing trend in terms of percentage of TIO, but indicates a linear increasing trend in terms of absolute rupees during the eighteen quarter period under consideration in this report.
HUL’s Q2-17 reporton categories
Home Care: Robust growth with continued momentum on premium laundry In Fabric Wash, growth was driven by the premium segment as Surf maintained its strong volume-led growth. In Household Care, Vim liquiddid well on the back of sustained market development. The water business continued to do well.
Personal Care: Growth impacted by slowing markets and Personal Wash volumes. In Personal Wash, the performance was impacted by price increases taken during the quarter. Skin Care growth was driven by the BB andCC creams. Hair Care growth was led by the premium brands Dove and TRESemmé. The recently acquired Indulekha brand continued toperform well and was extended to four new states in the quarter. In Oral Care, the overall performance was subdued, though Pepsodent started recovering post relaunch. Lakme Colour Cosmetics sustained its broad based innovation led growth. In Deodorants, Axe Signature continuedto gain ground during the quarter.
Refreshment: Strong growth led by Tea. In Tea, all key brands grew well driven by focused in-market initiatives. Lipton Green Tea and the Natural Care portfolio registered anotherquarter of high growth on sustained market development. In Coffee, Bru Gold continued to lead premiumisation and performed well. In Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts, Magnum Minis were launched during the quarter.
Foods: Modest growth in a challenging market. The focus continues to be on market development for the category. Kissan range of premium Jams gained further traction with consumersand Instant Soups led the growth for Knorr.
Brands
Samsung certifies 1,000 Maharashtra students in AI and coding
The South Korean electronics giant marks its first large-scale skilling push in the state, with women making up nearly half the national programme’s enrolment
PUNE: Samsung has put 1,000 students in Maharashtra through a certified training programme in artificial intelligence and coding, the largest such drive the South Korean electronics company has run in the state and a signal that corporate India’s skilling ambitions are moving well beyond the boardroom brochure.
The certifications were awarded under Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility programme, which launched in India in 2022 with the stated aim of democratising access to future-technology education. The 1,000 graduates were drawn from four institutions: 127 from Savitribai Phule Pune University, 373 from Pimpri Chinchwad University, 250 from D.Y. Patil University’s Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology and 250 from Anjuman-I-Islam’s Kalsekar Technical Campus. All completed training in either AI or coding and programming, the two disciplines Samsung has identified as the critical pillars of the digital economy.
The programme does not stop at technical training. Soft-skills development and career-readiness modules are baked into the curriculum, a deliberate attempt to close the gap between what universities teach and what employers actually want.
“India’s digital growth story will ultimately be shaped by the quality of its talent pipeline,” said Shubham Mukherjee, head of CSR and corporate communications at Samsung Southwest Asia. “As technologies like AI move from the periphery to the core of industries, skilling must evolve from basic training to building real-world capability. This milestone in Maharashtra reflects how industry and academia can come together to create a future-ready workforce that is both globally competitive and locally relevant.”
The Maharashtra drive sits within a rapidly scaling national effort. Samsung Innovation Campus trained 20,000 young people across India in 2025, hitting its stated target for the year. Women account for 48 per cent of national enrolments, a figure the company cites as evidence of its push for an inclusive technology ecosystem. The programme is implemented in partnership with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and the Telecom Sector Skill Council.
Samsung, which is marking 30 years in India this year, runs SIC alongside two other initiatives, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung DOST, as part of a broader effort to build what it calls a generation of innovators with both the technical depth and the problem-solving mindset to thrive in a fast-moving digital world.
A thousand certified students is a tidy headline. Whether they find jobs that match their new skills is the harder question, and the one that will ultimately determine whether corporate skilling programmes like this one are genuine pipelines or well-photographed gestures.
