Unilever underlying sales grow in H1 despite lower turnover

(Sharecast News) - Consumer goods giant Unilever reported a 3.4% rise in underlying sales for H125, driven by balanced volume and price growth, despite turnover dipping 3.2% to €30.1bn due to adverse currency movements and disposals. Unilever's personal care unit led the charge with 4.8% growth, buoyed by strong performances from its Dove deodorants, while ice cream sales increased 5.9% ahead of its planned demerger in November.

Developed markets continued to outperform, up 4.3%, while emerging markets saw modest gains of 2.8%, with India showing signs of recovery and China and Indonesia expected to accelerate in H2.

Underlying operating profits, on the other hand, fell 4.8% to €5.8bn, with margins down 30bps to 19.3%, underlying earnings per share decreased 2.1% to €1.59 and free cash flow halved to €1.1bn, impacted by ice cream separation costs and higher working capital.

However, Unilever said it remains confident going forward, forecasting FY sales growth within its 3-5% range and margin improvements in H2.

CEO Fernando Fernandez said: "Our first half performance positions us well for the full year. In the second half, we expect further acceleration in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, and sustained momentum in developed markets.

"We are building a marketing and sales machine that drives desire at scale in our power brands and ensures execution excellence across all channels to deliver consistent volume growth and gross margin expansion."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com