Unilever: first-half 'challenging', shares slightly down

(CercleFinance.com) - Consumer goods giant Unilever reported a 2.
7 per cent rise in first-half underlying sales on Thursday, with volume up 2.5% and price up 0.2%.

Even so, total turnover decreased by 5%, on the back of a negative currency impact of 9%.

The Anglo-Dutch maker of Dove soaps, Knorr soups and Ben & Jerry's ice creams said overall market conditions remained "challenging" in the first half.

"We saw an encouraging improvement in volumes and a lower contribution from price growth, particularly in emerging markets”, the company said.

Unilever also said that the truckers' strike in Brazil that presented a significant headwind in the second quarter was expected to "partially reverse" in the second half of the year.

Its expectations for the full year are unchanged. Unilever still expects underlying sales growth in the 3%-5% range, an improvement in underlying operating margin and strong cash flow.

After these figures were presented, the shares were down slightly (-0.1%) this morning on Euronext Amsterdam.

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