Pot Noodle-to-Dove Soap maker Unilever (LON:ULVR) served up higher first-half turnover and profit in tough markets, boosting its shares.
The stock rose 60p to 2,919p as the consumer goods group reported a 12% rise in turnover to €27bn and a 2.9% gain in underlying sales.
Core operating profit rose 16% to €3.9bn, but operating profit was down 13% at €3.8bn reflecting profits on disposals in 2014.
Unilever said consumer demand remained weak and volumes were flat in its markets.
Emerging markets stayed subdued while growth in Europe and North America was negligible.
But the company said volume and pricing drove an improvement in its personal care business.
The Dove Advanced Hair Series was establishing itself well across the world, most recently in Asia, and Tresemmé extended its reach to more premium ranges.
In food, savoury ranges showed broad-based growth helped by the success of cooking products in emerging markets and soups in Europe.
Unilever is introducing more natural products like Knorr wet soups and healthier ones such as fortified stock cubes, which help address iron deficiency, in Africa.
In dressings, Hellmann's mayonnaise increased sales driven by a strong performance in Latin America and by successful squeezy packaging brought from Europe to North America.
The group upgraded its ice cream with innovations behind premium brands, such as Magnum Pink and Black variants, Ben & Jerry's Cores range and new flavours of Breyer's Gelato.
Chief executive Paul Polman warned of tough times ahead in the face of lower global growth forecasts.
But he said: "The sharpened strategies across each of our four categories and a step-up in our innovation pipeline are increasingly driving our growth and margin expansion in a continued challenging environment."
Augustin Eden at Accendo Markets said Unilever had done well, but cautioned that Polman's comments about the outlook may limit share gains.
"While shares remain in the green for the moment, confidence to drive a re-visit of April all-time highs of 3087p remains inadequate at best," Eden said.