Unilever Focuses on Beauty, Wellbeing & Personal Care

Unilever’s first half sales fell 3.2%, but company executives remain bullish on key segments and regions.

“Our continued outperformance in developed markets and the positive impact of our decisive interventions in emerging markets, accelerated our growth in the second quarter to 3.8%, with positive volume growth across all business groups,” said CEO Fernando Fernandez. “This brought first half underlying sales growth to 3.4%, balanced across volume and price. A strong gross margin and
productivity gains ahead of plan fuelled increased investment in our brands and premium innovations.”

Well-Positioned for Second Half

Fernandez said the first half performance positions Unilever well for the full year. In the second half, Unilever expects further acceleration in emerging markets, particularly in Asia, and sustained momentum in developed markets. The company remains on track to demerge the Ice Cream business by mid-November, with the operational separation now complete and competitive performance improving.

“Looking ahead, our priorities are clear: more Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care; disproportionate investment in the US and India; and, a sharper focus on premium segments and digital commerce. We are building a marketing and sales machine that drives desire at scale in our power brands and ensures execution excellence across all channels to deliver consistent volume growth and gross margin expansion,” Fernandez concluded.