14th Apr 2016 06:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Unilever PLC on Thursday reported a fall in revenue in the first quarter of 2016 in a "volatile" market which it said was harmed by negative foreign exchange rates, slowing volume growth and price deflation.
The personal care and household products company said revenue in the first quarter of 2016 slipped by 2.0% to EUR12.5 billion, hit by negative currency movements and slowing volume growth.
Underlying sales, however, grew by 4.7%, while underlying volume was up 2.6%.
Unilever said underlying sales growth was driven by market share gains across all four categories of personal care, foods, home care and refreshment. Emerging markets grew by 8.3% with an increased contribution from volume. Developed markets declined by 0.3% with volume growth offset by widespread price deflation in Europe.
Unilever raised its quarterly dividend by 6% to EUR0.3201.
"With markets remaining volatile, we continue to focus on driving agility and resilience in our business through the key programmes which we set out at the end of last year: net revenue management, zero-based budgeting, and the next stage in our continued organisational transformation," Chief Executive Paul Polman said in a statement.
"This will position us well to deliver another year of volume-driven growth ahead of our markets, steady improvement in core operating margin and strong cash flow. These underpin sustained long-term value creation for our shareholders," he added.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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