Profit margin slipping despite price hike, claims Unilever

Despite a 42 per cent hike in product prices, multinational consumer goods company Unilever claimed that its profit margin is declining recently.

The multinational company came up with the claim during a hearing at the Bangladesh Competition Commission on Tuesday without placing any evidential documents.

The commission has asked the company to appear in the next hearing with the relevant documents.

Unilever was sued for hiking the prices of products unnaturally.

Along with the Unilever, hearings of the cases filed against Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited, City Group, Rashid Agro, Belcon Group, Paragon Poultry and president of Egg Traders Multipurpose Co-operative Society were also held on Tuesday.

These companies were sued for hiking prices of goods and poultry products without value edition, unstabilising the market and making irrational profits.

All of the companies failed to produce necessary documents at the hearing and sought time for submitting the papers through lawyers.

A team of lawyers led by barrister Mostafizur Rahman stood for the Unilever.

According to the complaint, the multinational company has hampered the competition in the market by controlling the products supply and unnatural price hike in last three months as per different newspaper reports and market survey. During this time, prices of each mini soap bar, Lux soap, Wheel detergent and Surf Excel were raised by Tk 5, Tk 20 to Tk 25, Tk 50 to Tk 55 and Tk 70, respectively violating the rules of market competition.   

In response, Unilever denied the allegation of irrational price hike and blamed the rise of production costs triggered by rise of dollar rate, fuel price and necessary inputs for the spiraling prices of its products.

The newly fixed prices were informed to the National Revenue Board (NBR) at different times for attaching the Value Added Tax (VAT) of the products, Unilever claimed.

For submitting necessary documents regarding its production costs, market share, sell, selling price and profit margin, the company sought eight more weeks while the commission fixed the next hearing on October 16.

Earlier, the commission filed cases against 44 companies and individuals related to the marketing and wholesale of rice, flour, poultry, soap and detergent powder on suo moto. Hearing on the cases started from Monday, successively.

Commission’s Chairman Md Mofizul Islam, members GM Saleh Uddin, AFM Manzoor Kadir and Nasrin Begum were present at the hearing, among others.