HUL Cuts Ad Spend 9% to ₹1,481 Crore Even as Its Sales Growth Hits a 14-Quarter High

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) spent ₹1,481 crore on advertising and promotion in the September 2026 quarter, down 9.3% from ₹1,632 crore a year earlier, even as its underlying sales growth reached 15%, the highest in 14 quarters, according to results announced on 28 October 2026.

Ad spend fell to about 8.2% of turnover from 10.4% a year ago, and was also down 10.6% from ₹1,657 crore in the June quarter, BestMediaInfo reported from the company's results.

The quarter in numbers

• Underlying sales growth: 15%, the best in 14 quarters.
• Underlying volume growth: 7%.
• Net profit: about ₹2,790 crore, up about 4%, against a one-off tax gain a year earlier; profit before exceptional items rose 9%, Business Standard reported.
• EBITDA: ₹4,089 crore, up 8%, with the margin down 140 basis points to 22.6% on input-cost pressure.
• Segments: Home Care grew 22% and Beauty and Wellbeing 16% on underlying sales, both with double-digit volume growth; Foods grew 9% with flat volumes.

Reported revenue figures differ by measure: BestMediaInfo cites turnover of ₹18,071 crore, while Business Standard reports net sales of ₹18,226 crore, up 14.5%.

Why the ad cut matters

HUL's investor presentation credits more productive advertising and promotion spending, along with pricing actions and cost savings, for supporting the quarter, BestMediaInfo reported. In other words, the company is getting more growth per rupee of advertising as commodity costs squeeze margins.

HUL is among the biggest buyers of TV advertising in India, so a lower ad bill matters for broadcasters already hit by a fall in TV ad activity during the BARC ratings blackout. It runs against the trend among other consumer companies this season: Nestlé India raised ad spend 46% and Paytm 59% in the same quarter.