Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) reported an improvement in sales growth in the second quarter of the year but saw profits shrink.
The FTSE 100-listed consumer goods giant posted interim results showing underlying sales growth of 3.4% for the six month of 2025, boosted by growth of 3.8% in the second quarter, which was stronger than analysts expected.
For the six-month period, growth of 1.5% came from underlying volume growth and 1.9% from price, while overall turnover declined 3.2% to €30.1 billion, impacted by adverse currency movements and net disposals.
For the full year, underlying sales growth is expected to be between 3% and 5%, with stronger growth anticipated in the second half. The company also expects an improvement in underlying operating margin for the full year.
Underlying operating profit fell 4.8% to €5.8 billion and reported operating profit dropped 10.6% to €5.3 billion.
Free cash flow was halved to €1.1 billion, reflecting Ice Cream separation costs and higher working capital, with the ice cream business "on track" for demerger in mid-November,
The group highlighted around €650 million in cumulative savings under its productivity programme.
A €1.50 billion share buyback has been completed and the quarterly dividend increased by 3%.
“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.
“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,” he added.