Sales growth eases at Unilever after emerging-market slowdown

24th Oct 2013 07:14

- Underlying growth eases to 3.2 per cent- Emerging-market growth slows significantly- Foreign exchange dampens resultsConsumer products giant Unilever met guidance for underlying sales growth in the third quarter and said it made 'good progress in slower markets'.The Lynx, Marmite and Persil manufacturer reported on Thursday that underlying sales increased by 3.2% during the period, in line with its target for 3-3.5% growth. The stock sank sharply at the end of September after it warned that a slowdown in emerging-market growth and a "significant currency weakening" would result in underlying sales growth easing from the 5% growth seen in the first half.Emerging markets grew by 5.9% in the third quarter with growth slowing from 10.3% across the first two quarters. The developed markets meanwhile have not fully recovered and declined by 0.3% during the quarter, though this was an improvement from the 1.3% drop seen in the first half.On a reported basis, group turnover slipped by 6.5% to €12.5bn in the third quarter, driven by a negative currency impact of 8.5%, as sales declined year-on-year across its key divisions of Personal Care, Foods, Refreshment and Home Care. This compares with 0.4% top-line growth in the first half.While Personal Care and Home Care performed well on an underlying basis, growing by 5.8% and 6%, respectively, Foods was down 0.3% and Refreshment increased by just 0.7%.Chief Executive Paul Polman said that the emerging markets continue to be the main driver of Unilever's growth and "remain a significant growth opportunity which the company is well-placed to capitalise on" despite the slowdown seen in the third quarter. "We have not yet seen an improvement in market conditions in North America or Europe," he said."Volume growth was positive in both emerging and developed markets in the quarter but price growth moderated as we lapped prior year increases and took action to ensure that our brands remain competitive in key markets."BC