Currency trends help Unilever to 2.8% sales increase
GLOBAL company Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream has reported better than expected sales for the first quarter of 2015.
The company founded in the early 20th century by Bolton entrepreneur and philanthropist William Lever (Lord Leverhulme) and which is involved in pioneering research at the government-backed Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)c entre at the Sci-Tech park in Daresbury, Cheshire, said underlying sales rose 2.8%, excluding the impact of currency moves, acquisitions and dispoals.
Turnover increased 12.3% to £9.2bn including a positive currency impact of 10.6%.
An improvement of 2.1% had been expected, but results so far have improved on that.
Chief executive Paul Polman said: “We have had a good start to the year, helped by favourable currency movements but also an improvement in underlying sales
“This is despite a continued challenging trading environment in many parts of the world. The actions we have been taking to put us on track for higher levels of growth are starting to pay off.
“We have further strengthened the innovation pipeline, and are increasing investment behind the core of our brands, as well as extending into premium segments and new markets.
“We continuously strengthen our go-to-market capabilities and sharpen our execution.”
