A 3.8% rise in third quarter for firm behind Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Dove soap

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Unilever, which this month was forced to scrap plans to move its headquarters from London to Rotterdam after a shareholder rebellion, said a hot summer across Europe and a recovery in Brazil boosted sales in the third quarter.

The firm behind brands such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Dove soap reported a 3.8% rise in underlying sales to €12.5bn (£11bn) during the three months to the end of September.

The chief executive, Paul Polman, said a plan to increase prices in a bid to offset rising commodity costs had not affected sales, putting the company on track to reach targets it has set for 2020.

However, despite his optimism, investors were unimpressed and shares in the FTSE 100 company fell 1.5%.

The shares have been under pressure since the end of August, amid anger among City shareholders at a proposal, pioneered by Polman, to simplify its Anglo-Dutch structure by having a sole headquarters in Rotterdam.

Unilever would have exited the FTSE 100, forcing many London-based institutions to remove it from their portfolios. Opposition from investors eventually forced Polman to scrap the plan earlier this month before it was put to a vote.

Unilever made no mention of the U-turn in its third quarter statement on Thursday but the chief financial officer, Graeme Pitkethly, said the board would take time to consider all the feedback it received from shareholders on the issue before making any further moves.

Unilever, whose foodstuffs include Ben & Jerry’s, said its European division benefited from strong ice cream sales in the three months to the end of September, thanks to sweltering summer weather. Its Brazilian business bounced back after a truckers’ strike hit sales in the second quarter.

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Despite Polman’s insistence that Unilever had raised prices without harming sales volumes, analysts at UBS said 2.4% growth on the latter measure was disappointing and would make it harder for the group to achieve its target of revenues up 3% to 5% for the full year.

“We think this is achievable but it heightens the risk of a guidance miss if market conditions deteriorate,” they said.

The group also completed the sale of its spread division, including Flora and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, to the private equity group KKR for £6bn this year as part of an effort to streamline the company and improve shareholder returns.