Unilever, the maker of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Marmite, has announced its first quarter results with underlying sales growth of 3.0% with volume growth of 1.3%.
Full-year outlook confirmed that Unilever is guiding for underlying sales growth of 3 to 5% in FY25, with modest improvement in underlying operating margins.
Charlie Huggins, Manager of the Quality Shares Portfolio at Wealth Club, said, “Unilever’s growth weakened in the first quarter of the year, as expected.
“However, given difficult market conditions and increased economic uncertainty, it could have been worse. Overall, it’s a resilient start to the year for Unilever, and new CEO, Fernando Fernandez, remains confident that growth will improve as self-help actions take hold.
“Unilever’s recent CEO change was a big surprise for investors. However, it was probably the right move. While Hein Schumacher was seen as a steady hand at the wheel, Fernandez is very highly regarded and is likely to go quicker and harder at solving Unilever’s problems.
“His no-nonsense approach is just what Unilever needs right now, for it faces several challenges.
“Unilever’s performance in emerging markets is nowhere near good enough. Competition in all of its markets is intense and the threat from private label brands has never been greater. To combat these, Unilever must out-innovate its peers and execute flawlessly.
“Unilever has always had good brands. But, for too long, there has been little sense of urgency or dynamism. That is now changing. And in Fernando Fernandez it finally has a CEO who is capable of unleashing its potential.”
