15th Oct 2015 06:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - Unilever PLC on Thursday reported a rise in sales in the third quarter of 2015 and said it expects underlying sales to grow at the upper end of its guided range for the full year.
The FTSE 100-listed maker of consumer products including Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Lipton tea, Vaseline and Dove beauty products, and Persil washing power, said revenue in the third quarter of the year grew 9.4% to EUR13.4 billion, while rising 11% to EUR40.4 billion in the first nine months of the year.
Unilever said growth was helped by soft comparatives in China, strong ice cream sales, and price increases in Latin America.
The company added however, that consumer demand remained fragile, while volume growth was "barely positive" in the markets in which it operates.
"We continue to see soft global markets with no immediate sign of getting help from an improving global economy. We are responding fast to accelerating change and high volatility with a focus on continuous cost management while increasing our organisational agility. We will continue to invest steadily behind our brands, innovations and go-to-market capabilities," Chief Executive Paul Polman said in a statement.
"These actions keep us on track for another year of volume growth ahead of our markets, and we now expect underlying sales growth for the year towards the upper end of the 2% to 4% range. We continue to expect steady improvement in core operating margin and strong cash flow," Polman added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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