In this briefing: National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) - Largely Inline Q4; Rich Valuation Caps Material Upside Hindustan Unilever Ltd - Volume-Led Growth with Gradual Demand Recovery Avenue Supermarts Ltd - Store Additions Support Growth; LFL Remains Weak MAS Financial Services Ltd - Building a Durable Compounding Franchise Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. - Fee Growth and Operating Leverage to Offset Margin Pressure 1. National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) - Largely Inline Q4; Rich Valuation Caps Material Upside EBITDA Inline with Our Estimate: EBITDA stood at Rs 2,349 Cr (down 15% YoY, up 8% QoQ), inline with our estimate, a marginal 3% miss vs. consensus. This was led by lower Alumina division profitability, lower Aluminium sales volumes, partly offset by higher aluminium prices. Alumina Refinery Expansion: The commissioning date for the 5 th stream Alumina refinery of 1 mtpa is kept unchanged at Jun’26; however, FY27 production guidance from it is now reduced further to 2 Lc tonnes from 3 Lc tonnes earlier (original guidance was 5 Lc tonnes).

In this briefing: Hindustan Unilever Ltd - Volume-Led Growth with Gradual Demand Recovery Avenue Supermarts Ltd - Store Additions Support Growth; LFL Remains Weak MAS Financial Services Ltd - Building a Durable Compounding Franchise Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. - Fee Growth and Operating Leverage to Offset Margin Pressure Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd. - Normalising Credit Costs and Lower Cost Ratios... 1. Hindustan Unilever Ltd - Volume-Led Growth with Gradual Demand Recovery Volume-led growth: Hindustan Unilever (HUL) reported a 7.3% YoY increase in revenue in Q4FY26, driven by 6% underlying volume growth, the strongest in the past 12 quarters, reflecting broad-based category traction. Demand conditions remained stable during the quarter, supported by a conducive macro environment marked by policy support measures and relatively benign inflation, which aided consumer confidence and provided relief to household budgets. However, towards the end of the period, escalating Middle East tensions led to a sharp rise in crude-linked input costs, coupled with supply-side disruptions and persistent currency depreciation, posing near-term headwinds.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd said on Thursday it is relying on cost cuts and price increases to counter commodity volatility stemming from the Middle East war, after reporting an 18% jump in quarterly profit. Rising raw material costs, driven by a war-led spike in crude prices, are expected to squeeze margins for consumer goods makers, with India particularly vulnerable as the world’s third-largest oil consumer depends heavily on Middle East energy imports. Material cost inflation is roughly at 8% to 10%, while price hikes that Hindustan Unilever has implemented so far are between 2% and 5%, finance chief Niranjan Gupta said on an earnings call. The company is reducing pack sizes for certain products and raising prices for some others, while stepping up cost cuts, including in advertising, to offset what it called “short-term impacts from Middle East situation.” “Hindustan Unilever and peers face a margin squeeze: input costs are rising quickly, but consumer resistance, competition, and the need to protect volumes prevent full and immediate pass-through,” consumer goods consultant Akshay D’Souza said.

India Business News: Infosys has appointed Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s non-executive chairman Nitin Paranjpe as non-executive vice chairman of its board with immediate effect.

HUL said the GST rate revision led to lower orders in September as distributors cleared old inventory, but expects demand to recover from November.