FMCG major, Hindustan Unilever posted a net profit of Rs 533.21 crore, for the quarter ending on June, 2010. This is 1.83 per cent lesser than what it had during the last year.

Last year it had seen a profit of Rs. 543.81 crore.

The reason behind this fall, said HUL, is the continuous increase in the material costs as well as more spending by the company on advertising and promotional activities.

Net sales from operations during the period was at Rs.4, 793.80 crore, This is slightly higher than the figure where it posted Rs.4,475.68 crore last year. This means an increase of 7.1 per cent.

Cost of raw materials and packaging materials were up by 7.81 per cent to Rs 1,683.26 crore as against Rs 1,561.31 crore last year. For the quarter in question, the same costs increased from Rs 751.21 crore against Rs.561.11 crore in the corresponding time of last fiscal. This means a direct shoot up by 33.87 per cent.

Talking about the results, Chairman of HUL, Harish Manwani congratulated the company saying that in spite of facing tough competition, it was able to show good figures. The momentum will continue to grow, he said.