10.26.23
Underlying sales growth for Unilever was 5.2% with 5.8% price growth and -0.6% volume decline per the company’s third quarter 2023 results.
Underlying price growth continues to moderate as inflation eases, with underlying volumes now positive in beauty & wellbeing, personal care and home care.
Turnover decreased -3.8% to $14.4 billion with -8.0% from currency and -0.6% from disposals net of acquisitions.
Its billion-plus Euro brands, accounting for 56% of group turnover, delivered underlying sales growth of 7.2%, with 5.7% price growth and 1.4% volume growth, led by strong performances from Dove, Hellmann’s, Rexona and Sunsilk.
The company’s 2023 outlook remains unchanged with underlying sales growth above 5% and a modest improvement in underlying operating margin.
“Unilever is a company with strong fundamentals: a portfolio of great brands used by 3.4 billion people each day, number one or two category positions across 80% of its turnover, an unrivalled global footprint, and a team of talented people,” said CEO Hein Schumacher. “Despite these strengths, our performance in recent years has not matched our potential. The quality of our growth, productivity and returns have all underdelivered. Today, we are setting out our action plan to close this gap. We will drive faster growth by stepping up innovation and investment behind our Power Brands; we will drive simplicity and productivity, leveraging the full strength of our operating model; and we will sharpen our performance culture through strong leadership and stretching goals. I am excited about what we can achieve by delivering on these three priorities, as we focus on unlocking Unilever’s full potential in the months and years ahead.”
Overall Performance
Beauty & Wellbeing delivered 7.4% underlying sales growth with a balance of price and volume growth, with Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing continuing to grow strongly. Personal Care grew 8.0% with 4.0% from price and 3.9% from volume driven by double-digit growth from Deodorants.
Home Care underlying sales were up 5.3% as volume turned positive to 0.4% and price grew 4.8%.
Emerging markets grew underlying sales 8.3% with volume growth improving to 2.6% and price growth of 5.6%. Latin America delivered underlying sales growth of 14.0% with volumes improving further at 6.2% growth while price growth slowed to 7.4%. South Asia grew mid-single digit with price growth slowing as we reduced prices in Skin Cleansing and Fabric Cleaning. The Chinese market is recovering more slowly than expected and sales declined mid-single digit in the quarter while South-East Asia grew low single-digit.
Developed markets grew 0.8%, driven by price growth of 6.3% with a volume decline of -5.2%. North America and Europe grew low single-digit, driven by price. Turnover declined -3.8% to $16.05 billion which included a negative currency impact of -8.0% and -0.6% from disposals net of acquisitions.
Beauty & Wellbeing
Beauty & Wellbeing delivered another strong performance with underlying sales growth of 7.4%, 3.6% from price and 3.6% from volume.
Hair Care grew mid-single digit, mainly through price with strong performances in South Asia and Latin America. Sunsilk grew double-digit helped by a successful relaunch based on a new Activ-infusion formulation with the power of oils, vitamins and proteins. In Japan, we launched the premium Nexxus brand which combines professional salon heritage with molecular protein science.
Core Skin Care grew mid-single digit with strong growth from Vaseline. In North Asia, AHC declined double-digit as the company continues the channel reset for the brand.
Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing continued to grow strongly. In Prestige, growth was driven by Dermalogica, Tatcha and Hourglass where the company launched a luxurious skin tint that also boosts hydration. In Health & Wellbeing, Nutrafol grew strongly and Liquid IV continued to perform well with range extensions into sugar-free and kids hydration solutions.
Personal Care
Personal Care underlying sales grew 8.0% with price growth of 4.0% and a third consecutive quarter of volume growth, up 3.9%.
Deodorants grew double-digit driven by strong performances in Latin America and Europe. Rexona continued its strong growth trajectory building on the success of its 72-hour sweat and odor protection technology and Axe grew well supported by its new fine fragrance collection.
Skin Cleansing grew mid-single digit with volumes returning to positive growth. Lux grew strongly and in South-East Asia, we relaunched Lifebuoy based on a new formulation with multivitamins to fight dangerous germs. The Dove Personal Care portfolio delivered double-digit growth driven by a strong deodorants’ performance.
Oral Care grew high single-digit with Pepsodent and Close Up growing double-digit.
Home Care
Home Care underlying sales grew 5.3%, with a return to positive volumes of 0.4% as price growth moderated to 4.8%.
Fabric Cleaning grew mid-single digit driven by Latin America and South-East Asia. In Asia, the company relaunched OMO with a formulation that is powered by naturally derived stain removers through our Easylift technology. In Europe, pricing was offset by a volume decline. The company introduced the premium OMO ultimate liquids range, delivering our most superior stain removal that attacks the toughest stains while being kinder to the planet.
Fabric Enhancers grew mid-single digit driven by price and strong double-digit growth in Turkey.
Home & Hygiene grew high single-digit with strong growth from CIF and Domestos as its new power foams, which eliminate germs in hard-to-reach places, performed well.
The Air Wellness business declined double-digit as consumer demand remained muted.