Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) reported price growth continued to ease in the third quarter as it unveiled a rise in underlying sales in the period.
The owner of Domestos and Ben & Jerry's said turnover decreased 3.8% to €15.2 billion, but underlying sales grew 5.2%, boosted by higher prices, up 5.8%, while volumes fell 0.6%.
The firm said underlying price growth continues to moderate as inflation eases, with underlying volumes now positive in Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care.
Beauty & Wellbeing underlying sales rose 7.4%, Personal Care sales climbed 8.0%, Home Care sales grew 5.3% and Nutrition increased by 5.6%, but Ice Cream sales fell 2.8%.
Unilever said its billion+ Euro brands, accounting for 56% of turnover, delivered underlying sales growth of 7.2%, with 5.7% price growth and 1.4% volume growth, led by strong performances from Dove, Hellmann's, Rexona and Sunsilk.
The firm’s outlook remains unchanged with underlying sales growth above 5% and a modest improvement in underlying operating margin.
Its new boss, chief executive Hein Schumacher, also announced an action plan to boost performance, saying that “performance in recent years has not matched our potential”.
“The quality of our growth, productivity and returns have all under-delivered,” Schumacher said.
The plan will focus on faster growth, greater productivity and simplicity, including a stepping up of investment behind the company's ‘Power Brands.’
The plan is targeting underlying sales growth of 3-5%, modest margin expansion, mid-teens return on invested capital, EPS growth and an attractive dividend.
Unilever also announced Fernando Fernandez has been appointed as its new chief financial officer.