Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) has suffered a blow with the departure of the chief executive of its Prestige Beauty business to set up an investment fund, says Deutsche Bank.
While the business accounts for only about 2% of sales, the bank notes that it has been growing “consistently double-digit” and Unilever has ambitions to double its size.
Prestige Beauty encompasses 11 brands including ‘powerbrands’, Dermalogica and Paula’s Choice.
“Growth has been slowing recently in line with the slower US beauty market; however, we would still expect the company to deliver above 2% volume mix growth at the group level this year.
“We estimate Prestige has historically been adding ~30bps to volume/mix,” adds the bank.
'Buy' with a target of 4,600p remains Deutsche Bank’s view. Shares eased 0.6% to 4,423p.