A valuation of Hindustan Unilever (HINDUNILVR) built from its filed accounts — ten years of results, the method that fits this business, and what today's price already assumes.
Worked backwards from today's share price: the growth Hindustan Unilever must sustain to justify what it costs, against what its own record supports.
The price already embeds ~16% growth versus the ~3% the history supports — much of the opportunity appears priced in on these inputs. Across plausible assumption draws, the price is consistent with growth in the 12%–20% range (P25–P75; P5–P95: 5%–24%). The same price is consistent with ~19% growth if margins compress 300bps, or ~14% if they expand 300bps — growth and margin trade off; there is no single 'right' implied number.
Revenue and earnings per share in ₹, return on equity and leverage as ratios — all from the filed statements.
Revenue and net profit as filed, in ₹ crore.
| Year | Revenue | Net profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2017 | 33,162 | 4,490 | 13.5% |
| Mar 2018 | 35,545 | 5,227 | 14.7% |
| Mar 2019 | 39,310 | 6,060 | 15.4% |
| Mar 2020 | 39,783 | 6,756 | 17.0% |
| Mar 2021 | 47,028 | 7,999 | 17.0% |
| Mar 2022 | 52,446 | 8,892 | 17.0% |
| Mar 2023 | 60,580 | 10,143 | 16.7% |
| Mar 2024 | 61,896 | 10,282 | 16.6% |
| Mar 2025 | 61,328 | 10,671 | 17.4% |
| Mar 2026 | 64,468 | 15,059 | 23.4% |
This business is valued on the cash it is expected to generate, discounted back at its cost of capital — with growth taken from its own ten-year record rather than from guidance.
Discounted cash flowThe same valuation, run side by side.
Hindustan Unilever vs ITCBoth consumer staples, though ITC carries cigarettes and hotels.→Hindustan Unilever vs Nestle IndiaPackaged foods against home and personal care.→Hindustan Unilever vs Dabur IndiaA smaller, more India-focused consumer book.→At ₹2,101 the market is pricing in roughly 16% sustained growth, against the ~3% its own record supports. That is more than it has delivered, so the price is justified only if the business can hold a rate it has not previously sustained.
It is computed from the filed financial statements using the method that fits this business (discounted cash flow), with every assumption shown alongside the result. The per-share figure and the full working are in the report.
A price-to-earnings of 44.8 and price-to-book of 10.15 sit against a return on equity of 31.0%. Whether that multiple is deserved depends on how durable the return is — which is exactly what the valuation tests.
Revenue went from ₹0.33 lakh crore to ₹0.64 lakh crore over the period shown, while return on equity moved from 74.3% to 30.5%. Growing scale on a rising return is a very different proposition from growing scale on a falling one.
The dividend yield is 1.95%, which is a meaningful part of the total return.
Debt to equity stands at 0.03, down from 0.04 at the start of the period — the balance sheet is a core input to the cost of capital used here.
From published financial statements. The method is chosen to fit the business — a bank on excess return, a regulated utility on its rate base, a conglomerate by its parts — and every assumption is shown with its source. When the numbers do not support a call, no call is published.
A cost of capital of 8.56%, growth drawn from the company's own record rather than from guidance, and the valuation method that fits the business. All of them are listed in the report, with how much each one moves the answer.