Sluggish European sales hold back Unilever
CONSUMER products giant Unilever reported weaker-than-expected growth in the first quarter, held back by a tough competitive environment in Europe.
The Anglo-Dutch group, behind household brands such as PG Tips, Hellman’s mayonnaise and Persil washing powder, reported underlying sales growth of 4.9% for the three months to the end of March, below market forecasts of 5.6%.
Unilever, which is investing £40m at its Port Sunlight base near Liverpool to create a centre of excellence, is now the third-biggest consumer goods group after Nestle and Procter & Gamble.
It is focusing on high-growth regions like Latin America and Asia which now account for 57% of sales. In these areas revenue growth was 10.4%. However, underlying sales fell 3.1% in Europe.
Chief Executive Paul Polman said: “Developed markets growth remained sluggish. Europe faced a particularly strong prior year comparator and whilst the overall performance was solid, the reported growth was held back by the slow start to the ice cream season and weakness in spreads.
“We remain focused on achieving another year of profitable volume growth ahead of our markets, steady and sustainable core operating margin improvement and strong cash flow.”
