Unilever Reports Strong Volume Growth in Q2
Unilever reported first-half revenue of €25.6 billion, driven by underlying sales growth of 4.8%, with volume contributing significantly to the increase for the first time in years. The second quarter saw even stronger performance, with underlying sales growing 5.8% and volumes rising 5.5%, marking Unilever's best quarterly volume result since 2010. The growth was led by beauty and wellbeing, personal care, and home care divisions, supported by increased marketing spend and a World Cup campaign around brands like Dove, Vaseline, and Rexona. However, the food division underperformed slightly in terms of volumes, aligning with Unilever's ongoing plan to spin it off into a standalone business through its deal with McCormick. Despite strong volume growth, underlying operating profit rose only 0.9% due to currency fluctuations and commodity inflation offsetting gains from sales and efficiency improvements. Free cash flow increased significantly by 42.9%, reaching €1.5 billion.
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Topics: consumer_goods guidance_upgrade sales_performance volume_growth