Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) will report its fourth-quarter earnings on Friday and analysts expect the consumer goods giant to report an increase in net profit this quarter.

HUL is expected to report a good quarter but may not be as good as the previous quarter. According to Unilever PLC, India market grew well in January to March quarter but slower than the October-December quarter.

The key numbers to watch out for would be 10 percent topline growth, 8 percent volume growth and 22 percent net profit growth. 10 percent on the topline growth would take the company’s quarterly revenues above Rs 10,000 crore for the first time in its history.

As the revenues grow along with volume and price growth, HUL's EBITDA is likely to grow by 16 percent. The company is also on a massive cost cutting spree, aiding margin improvement by about 120 basis points. The street is expecting margin growth of 23.7 percent. The net profit growth of 22 percent would be around Rs 1645 crore.

Volume growth of 6-8 percent seen likely after five quarters of 10 percent volume growth, so a tad subdued.

The other important factors to watch out for would be moderation on industry demand growth, management commentary on rural and what the company has to say about the competitive scenario in a weak demand situation and the integration with GSK Consumer Healthcare business.

The stock is down 8 percent from its 52-week high but still trades upwards of 50 times FY20 earnings.