LONDON – Unilever (NYSE: UL) achieved slightly better than expected underlying quarterly sales after winning back more shoppers with product innovations and slower price increases, posting its biggest gain in sales volumes in three and a half years.
On Thursday, the consumer goods giant said it was keeping its full-year outlook for 3-5% underlying sales growth and an operating margin of at least 18%.
The maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s condiments reported a 4.5% rise in third-quarter underlying sales, beating analysts’ average forecast of a 4.2% increase, according to a company-provided consensus.
Underlying price growth for the quarter was 0.9% while underlying volume sales growth was 3.5%, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2021 when Unilever reported a 4.7% rise in volumes. Analysts had expected a 1% price increase and a 3.2% volume rise for the third quarter.
“We have delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of positive, improved volume growth, with each of our business groups driving higher volumes year-on-year,” CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement.
(Source: Reuters)
