LONDON: Unilever 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.
The consumer goods giant said on Thursday it was keeping its full-year outlook for 3-5 per cent underlying sales growth and an underlying operating margin of at least 18 per cent.
The maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's condiments reported a 4.5 per cent rise in third-quarter underlying sales, beating analysts' average forecast of a 4.2 per cent increase, according to a company-provided consensus.
Underlying price growth for the quarter was 0.9 per cent while underlying volume sales growth was 3.5 per cent, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2021 when Unilever reported a 4.7 per cent rise in volumes. Analysts had expected a 1.0 per cent increase in prices and a 3.2 per cent rise in volumes 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.