Unilever's Strong Quarterly Sales Performance

By Richa Naidu
LONDON (Reuters) – Unilever (LON:ULVR) 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 stated on Thursday that it is maintaining its full-year outlook for 3-5% underlying sales growth and an underlying 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, surpassing 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%, marking the largest increase since the first quarter of 2021 when Unilever reported a 4.7% rise in volumes. Analysts had expected a 1% increase in prices and a 3.2% 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.