Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Lever Ltd on Thursday said its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 stood at Rs 450.93 crore (Rs 4.509 billion).

This represents an increase of 12.5 per cent over the previous corresponding quarter.

The company had registered a net profit of Rs 447.34 crore (Rs 4.473 billion) in the quarter ended June 30, 2002. The company said the growth was on account of better sales of home and personal care products.

HLL's sales during the period under review grew at a sedate pace of 3.5 per cent year-on-year at Rs 2,792.82 crore (Rs 27.928 billion), up from last year's Rs 2,696.13 crore (Rs 26.961 billion).

The HLL board of directors has also recommended an interim dividend of Rs 2.50 per share of Rs 1 for the year ending December 31, 2003.

The company said that the slight slowdown in sales growth can be attributed to poor rural demand due to insufficient rains, lack of consumer spending and tough competition from cheaper brands.

After the results, Hind Lever the share price increased by almost 4 per cent to touch Rs 174.50 at the Bombay Stock Exchange.