Unilever PLC: Announces Solid H1-2023 Performance

London / UK. (ul) British Unilever PLC announced its H1-2023 Trading Statement. Summary:

  • Underlying sales growth of 9.1 percent, driven by all Business Groups, with 9.4 percent price growth and -0.2 percent volume
  • Turnover increased 2.7 percent to EUR 30.4 billion, with -3.2 percent from currency and -2.7 percent from disposals net of acquisitions
  • Underlying operating profit improved 3.3 percent to EUR 5.2 billion, with a 10bps margin improvement to 17.1 percent
  • Underlying earnings per share improved 3.9 percent, diluted EPS up 23.6 percent,boostedby profit on disposals and lower restructuring spend
  • Completed third EUR 750 million tranche of our ongoing share buyback programme of up to EUR 3 billion
  • Brand and marketing investment increased EUR 0.4 billion in constant exchange rates
  • Our billion+ Euro brands, accounting for 55 percent of Group turnover, delivered underlying sales growth of 10.8 percent, led by strong performances from Rexona, Hellmann’s, OMO, Sunsilk and Lux
  • Continued portfolio reshaping with the announced acquisition of the frozen yoghurt brand Yasso and the sale of the Suave brand in North America

CEO Hein Schumacher: «Unilever’s performance in the first half highlights the qualities that attracted me to the business: an unmatched global footprint, a portfolio of great brands and a team of talented people. My early immersion in the business has confirmed my belief in Unilever’s strong fundamentals. The task ahead is to leverage these core strengths – supported by our simplified operating model – to drive improved performance and competitiveness. This is our absolute priority and it will mean bringing greater focus and sharper execution, with science-backed innovations and investment behind our brands. This opportunity to step up our performance and unlock our full potential makes it an exciting time to lead Unilever. I look forward to sharing further details when we report our Q3 results in October.» For additional information please read the company’s PDF file below (72 KB):

20230725-UNILEVER-H1-2023.