Unilever's second half results were ahead of market forecasts, as new products drives growth and margin expansion despite challenging markets.
Underlying sales grew 2.9% in the three months to end-June, beating the consensus expectation of 2.6%, with volume up 1.1% and price up 1.7%.
Thanks to a positive currency impact of 9.6%, total sales growth for the quarter rose by an impressive 11.8% to €14.19bn. For the first half, this meant underlying sales growth was also 2.9%.
Although operating profit was down 13% to €3.8bn and net profit down 11% to €2.7bn, core earnings per share (EPS) was 16% higher at €0.91.
The foods business, which includes Magnum ice cream, LIpton tea, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Knorr stock cubes and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, reported flat sales in the second quarter and a 1.4% rise in the first half.
The company said consumer demand remained weak, with volumes flat in its markets. 'Emerging markets continue to be subdued whilst in Europe and North America growth is negligible.'