ITC vs HUL: Which FMCG stock should you pick for long term?

livemint.com:

₹499.70 on July 24, 2023. Currently trading at ₹412.45, the stock is now over 17 percent away from its peak. However, it has gained almost 12 percent from its 52-week low of ₹369.65, hit on March 17, 2023.

On the other hand, HUL hit its 52-week high of ₹2769.65 on July 7, 2023. Currently trading at ₹2,392, it is almost 14 prcent away from its year-high. Meanwhile, it has advanced just 2 percent from its 52-week low of ₹2346.75, hit on February 15, 2024.

Meanwhile, in the long term, 3 years as well, ITC has emerged as the winner. The stock has given over 97 percent returns whereas HUL is up just 10 percent. ITC announced a 6 percent increase in its consolidated net profit, reaching ₹5,335 crore for the quarter ending in December, beating market estimates.

This marks a notable rise from the ₹5,006 crore reported in the corresponding period of the previous year. Sequentially, net profit grew 13 percent from ₹4,927 crore in the September quarter. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations rose 2 percent YoY amounting to ₹19,484 crore from ₹19,020 crore same period last year.

EBITDA amounted to ₹6,024 crore, reflecting a marginal decrease of 3.2 percent. The EBITDA margin stood at 36.6 percent, registering a decline of 180 basis points YoY. HUL posted a standalone net profit of ₹2,519 crore for the third quarter of FY24, a growth of just 0.55 percent from ₹2,505 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal year.

However, HUL’s Q3 net profit declined 7.28 percent from ₹2,717 crore on a sequential basis. The company’s total revenue in Q3FY24 fell 0.38 percent to ₹14,928 crore from ₹14,986 crore, YoY. At the operational level, EBITDA was flat at ₹3,540 crore, while EBITDA margins improved by 10 basis points YoY to 23.7 percent.