Hindustan Unilever shares plunge 7% on demerger of ice cream business

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) shares tumbled 7.03% to an intraday low of ₹2,289 on the BSE on record date for demerger of its ice-cream business, Kwality Wall’s.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the demerger scheme on November 6, 2025, and the arrangement formally came into effect on December 1, 2025, Hindustan Unilever said in an exchange filing last week.

Under the approved structure, there will be no change in the shareholding pattern of the demerged entity as the share entitlement ratio is 1:1. This means shareholders holding Hindustan Unilever shares as of the record date will receive one fully paid-up equity share of Kwality Wall’s Industries Ltd (KWIL) for every one HUL share they own.

The country’s largest FMCG company said the demerger will create India’s first standalone listed ice-cream company, enabling a sharper strategic focus, agile decision-making and a business model tailored to the category’s unique dynamics.

Hindustan Unilever Q2 earnings

Hindustan Unilever reported a 3.6% increase in its consolidated net profit at ₹2,685 crore for the quarter ended September 30 of fiscal year 2025-26 as compared to ₹2,591 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The company’s revenue from operation stood at ₹16,034 crore in Q2 FY26 in contrast to ₹15,703 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year, marking a growth of 2.1%.

On the operation level, HUL’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) marginally declined by 1.3% at ₹3,522 crore in the reporting quarter as against ₹3,570 crore in Q2 FY25.

The margin, however, contracted to 21.97% in Q2 FY26 in contrast to 22.73% YoY.

The FMCG firm has also announced an interim dividend of ₹19 per equity share of face value of ₹1 each for FY26. The record date to determine shareholders eligible for the interim dividend has set for November 7, 2025, and the dividend will be paid on November 20, 2025, HUL said.

As of 12:00 pm, HUL shares recovered some intraday losses and traded 3.62% lower at ₹2,336, underperforming the NIFTY50 index which was up 0.41%.