Kwality Wall’s (India) shares list at 26% discount after HUL demerger. All you need to know

Shares of Kwality Wall’s (India) Ltd debuted at a 25.87% discount on the NSE on Monday, listing at Rs 29.80 following its demerger from FMCG major Hindustan Unilever. The demerged issue price was Rs 40.20 per share. The company’s market capitalisation stood at around Rs 7,000 crore at listing.

In a separate exchange filing earlier in the day, the company said The Magnum Ice Cream Company HoldCo 1 Netherlands B.V. has launched an open offer to acquire up to 26% of the company’s voting share capital. The offer price has been fixed at Rs 21.33 per share, with Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited appointed as the manager to the open offer.

The listing comes after HUL received approvals from both BSE and NSE for 2,34,95,91,262 equity shares of the standalone entity, marking the formal culmination of one of the company’s most significant portfolio restructurings in recent years.


The hive-off became effective from December 1 last year, with December 5 fixed as the record date to determine eligible shareholders. Under the approved scheme, investors holding HUL shares as of that date received one share of Kwality Wall’s for every share held, paving the way for India’s first pure-play listed ice-cream company to enter the public markets.

Domestic brokerage estimates had earlier indicated a potential valuation of Rs 50–55 per share, reflecting the seasonal nature and relatively lower margin profile of the category. While a reduction in GST on ice cream from 18% to 5% is expected to support affordability and demand, the business continues to face challenges tied to seasonality and profitability.

HUL Q3 snapshot

Hindustan Unilever on Monday reported a 30% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,188 crore from continuing operations for the third quarter of FY26. In the same quarter last year, the company’s net profit stood at Rs 3,027 crore.

The company’s net profit for the period, however, came in at Rs 6,603 crore, up 121% year-on-year, primarily driven by one-off impacts from our portfolio transformation actions, HUL said.

The company’s revenue from continuing operations came in at Rs 16,441 crore, marking a 5.6% year-on-year jump from Rs 15,556 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, HUL said in a regulatory filing.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for continuing operations stood at Rs 3,788 crore, higher by 3% from the same quarter last year. However, the EBITDA margin declined by 70 basis points YoY to 23.3%. One basis point is equal to 0.01% (one-hundredth of one percent).
The company expects macro stability along with supportive policy measures to create a favourable environment for consumption going ahead. It anticipates FY27 to be stronger than FY26, driven by continued portfolio optimisation and channel transformation initiatives.

“Priya Nair, CEO and Managing Director said that demand trends reflected early signs of recovery, underpinned by supportive policy measures. “We continued to build desirability at scale with our brands, accelerate market development in high-growth demand spaces and strengthen our capabilities to scale Channels of the Future with a dedicated organisation for Quick commerce.”

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)