Pricing pressure easing at Unilever

4th Nov 2010 07:23

Anglo-Dutch household goods giant Unilever saw underlying sales growth ease off in the third quarter, despite a strong performance in emerging markets.Turnover in the third quarter was up 13.2% at €11.55bn from €10.20bn a year earlier, ahead of some market forecasts of €11.35bn.Underlying sales growth in the third quarter was 3.6%, while the growth rate for the first nine months of 2010 was 3.8%.Underlying price growth was negative at -1.2%, though this represented an improvement on previous quarters. For the first nine months of 2010 price growth was negative at -2.1%.Operating profit improved by 21% from the third quarter 2009 to €1.81bn, reflecting improved underlying operating profit, lower restructuring and the favourable impact of foreign exchange.The underlying operating margin rose by three-tenths of a percentage point, with higher gross margins offset by significant investment in advertising and promotions.Net profit in the third quarter was 21% higher than a year earlier at €1.35bn.A quarterly dividend of €0.208 has been declared."These results confirm again that our strategy to focus on the consumer and to accelerate growth is working," claimed chief executive officer Paul Polman."We continue to expect underlying price growth to turn positive towards the end of the year," Polman added.