Hindustan Unilever third-quarter profit surges 28 percent

(Reuters) - Hindustan Unilever Ltd posted a 28 percent rise in its third-quarter profit on Wednesday, underpinned by higher sales from its personal care business.

Profit came in at 13.26 billion rupees ($207.64 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 10.38 billion rupees a year ago, the diversified consumer goods maker said. http://bit.ly/2rl6Bw7

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 11.58 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

Revenue from the company's personal care segment, which houses brands such as Vaseline and Dove, rose 2.8 percent to 4.09 billion rupees.

($1 = 63.8600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)