Hindustan Unilever profit affected by weak demand

MUMBAI: Weakening rural demand and low pricing hurt Hindustan Unilever Ltd as the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer group Unilever Plc missed market expectations for quarterly profit, sending its shares down almost 5% yesterday.

Consumer price inflation in India has ticked up to an eight-month high, making Indian consumers, a quarter of whom live on less than 74 US cents a day, pull back on discretionary spending.