FMCG sector company Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is witnessing a big decline since its opening day today. On Thursday (24 October), this stock opened at ₹ 2647 per share. From here, the stock has seen a weakness of about 5%. HUL released the results of the July-September quarter a day after the market closed. The company's results were weaker than expected. Weak macro-economic factors affected the company's results.

CNBC-TV18 had predicted the company's revenue to be ₹15665 crores during the September quarter. But, the company's revenue during this period was ₹15508 crores. Volume growth was 3%. Whereas, it was expected to be 4-5%.

HUL's home care business performed better than expected. Revenue from the beauty segment was as per estimates. But, a decline has been seen in the personal care and food & refreshment business. This segment was expected to perform better. Along with the results, the company announced that it will separate the ice cream business. It will be announced by the end of December. After the July-September quarter results, many brokerage firms have issued notes on HUL. JPMorgan maintained the Overweight rating on this stock and reduced the target price from ₹2950 to ₹2870 per share. Analysts of the brokerage firm say that the demand outlook is weakening for the short term due to sluggishness in urban demand. This is the reason why volume growth was weaker than expected. Jefferies has set a target price of ₹ 3,130 per share with a Buy rating on HUL in its report. This brokerage firm says that recovery in rural demand will continue. But, urban demand is now becoming normal. The current demand trend is expected to continue in the short term. Product pricing may provide some boost. Another brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has an Underweight rating on HUL with a rating of ₹ 2,110 per share. Personal care and food & refreshment categories remain an overhang on the company's growth. There is no expectation of a significant increase in price growth. What is the commentary of FMCG companies Nestle: After the release of the results, the company said that the external environment looks challenging. There is a slowdown in consumer demand and commodity prices are rising. Suresh Narayanan said that FMCG sales are declining due to the decline in the middle class population. Tata Consumer: After the results, it said that urban demand is sluggish. Some impact of floods and food inflation was seen. Since government spending has increased, urban demand is expected to increase. HUL: Urban growth is normalizing and recovery is visible in rural areas. Largely due to macro factors, cities have seen a slowdown. But, this is only for a short time. Pidilite Industries: This company has said that demand has been affected due to rains in the beginning of the quarter. United Spirits: There was a slowdown in the September quarter due to a weaker than expected demand environment.