Emerging markets drive strong growth for Unilever in half-year
Unilever has announced its results for the first half of 2019, which show underlying sales growth of 3.3%, led by our emerging market business which grew 6.2%.
Commenting on the results, CEO Alan Jope said: “We have delivered consistent growth within our guided range for 2019, led by our emerging markets. Accelerating growth remains our top priority and we continue to evolve our portfolio and seek out fast growth channel and geographical opportunities, as well as address those performance hotspots where growth is falling short of our aspirations.
“For the full year, we continue to expect underlying sales growth to be in the lower half of our multi-year 3-5% range, an improvement in underlying operating margin that keeps us on track for the 2020 target and another year of strong free cash flow. Our sustainable business model and portfolio of purpose-led brands are key to delivering superior long-term financial performance.”
According to the CEO, the company’s growth was mixed. He explained that market growth in Europe and North America was held back by the impact of weather on ice cream sales. And in the emerging markets, Unilever continued to see good momentum particularly in China and South East Asia.
However, India saw strong market growth, while Argentina remains hyperinflationary and high levels of pricing continue to weigh on consumer demand.
Some of the brands that were very instrumental to growth for the company include Rexona Clinical and Dove Zero aluminium ranges, alongside the extension of Love, Beauty & Planet.
“New formats continued to drive sales in skin cleansing, including the incremental launch of Dove bath bombs as well as Dove foaming handwash. Good performance in skin care was supported by on-trend innovations including Pond’s InstaBright Glow cream. Hair care saw only modest growth for the first half, with a challenging second quarter particularly in the US.
“Oral care returned to growth in the second quarter, helped by innovations such as Close-up natural whitening toothpaste and Signal White Now. Our prestige brands, including Dermalogica, Hourglass and REN, saw double digit growth overall, and we announced the acquisitions of Garancia and Tatcha, which are not yet included in USG,” the CEO said.
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