Mumbai, Jan 23 (IANS): FMCG major Hindustan Unilever on Monday reported a seven per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 1,037.93 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2016 as compared to Rs 971.66 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

Company's sales from operations in the quarter under review stood at Rs 8,124.48 crore, down by one per cent from Rs 8,226.55 crore in the same period period last year.

The company said the cost of goods sold was higher by 60 basis points due to rising input costs. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were down by 5 per cent.

It further said during the quarter, the squeeze in liquidity resulted in reduced trade pipelines and lower consumer off-take. The impact was varied across segments, channels and geographies.

"The gradual recovery of the market was temporarily impacted by adverse liquidity conditions. There are early signs of normalisation and our focus continues to remain on innovation led volume growth and improvement margins," said company's chairman Harish Manwani.

The company said premium laundry in home care segment performed well with double digit growth in Surf but personal wash volumes were impacted due to calibrated price increases to manage steep inflation in commodity costs.

The company has appointed Dev Bajpai as director on the board.