Uniliver’s Sales Rise

Uniliver ’s sales volumes rose grew 2 per cent in the second quarter, reversing several quarters of declines, as the maker of Persil laundry detergent and Flora spreads boosted marketing spending heavily , Financial Times reports.

Photo: Uniliver’s Sales Rise

Meanwhile, the maker of Knorr soup, Dove soap and Sunsilk shampoo said today sales rose 2 per cent in the quarter, with all regions seeing growth, as new chief executive Paul Polman's quest for higher volumes started to bear fruit quicker than forecast.

The quarterly sales rise was above a consensus forecast of 3.7 per cent, though within a range of 3 to 5 per cent in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts, and contrasted with falling quarterly sales and volumes from arch-rival Procter & Gamble , Irish Times reports.

“I would call this the Polman effect,” said Marco Gulpers, an ING analyst who recommends investors buy Unilever stock. “The return to growth in western Europe came earlier than expected. As long as they can remain focused on price cuts, they can keep gaining market share.” , Bloomberg reports.