By Saabira Chaudhuri
Unilever sold more products at higher prices in the first quarter, a shot in the arm for Chief Executive Hein Schumacher who has been under pressure to deliver stronger growth.
Shares in the owner of Dove soap, Tre Semme shampoo and Ben & Jerrys ice cream rose more than 5% in morning trading in London after it reported better-than-expected underlying sales growth of 4.4% for the first three months of the year.
Unilever's beauty and wellbeing division performed particularly strongly, helped by the launch of products like Dove's Scalp+ Hair Therapy and new lines under the Vaseline brand.
Under Schumacher, Unilever has been investing more in its largest brands, working to simplify its business and trying to make its culture more performance-focused by, for instance, changing compensation metrics.
Unilevers transformation is at an early stage, but we have increasing confidence in our ability to deliver sustained volume growth and positive mix as we accelerate gross margin expansion, Schumacher said.
Key highlights from Unilevers earnings:
All five of Unilevers business groups reported underlying sales growth, with volumes up 2.2%
Overall revenue rose 1.4% to 15 billion euros, equivalent to about $16 billion.
Unilever recently dropped or changed several of its sustainability targets. On Thursday, Schumacher said the move amounted to letting go of goals that were unrealistic, like making all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
--The Unilever investment case is more plausible than for a long time, said RBC analyst James Edwardes Jones.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2024 06:46 ET (10:46 GMT)
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