By Richa Naidu
LONDON (Reuters) -Unilever on Thursday met expectations for underlying fourth-quarter sales growth after raising prices at a slower rate than in recent quarters, posting an increase in sales volumes for the first time in 10 quarters.
The company said it expects a “modest improvement” in underlying operating margin for the full year, and that underlying sales growth will be within its multi-year range of 3% to 5%.
Unilever, which makes Dove soap and Hellmann’s condiments, reported a roughly 5% rise in fourth-quarter underlying sales, meeting analysts’ average forecast, a company-provided consensus showed.
Underlying price growth for the fourth quarter was 2.8%, and underlying volumes were up 1.8%, rising for the first time since the second quarter of 2021. The price increase was lower than analysts expected, and sales volumes were up more than they had estimated.
(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Jason Neely and Tom Hogue)
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