Unilever posts slowest quarterly sales growth since 2009 on Asia
Emerging markets such as India and Indonesia, which account for about 57% of sales, grew 5.6%, slower than the first half's 6.6%
London: Unilever Plc, the maker of Surf and Rin laundry detergents, reported the slowest third-quarter revenue growth in five years amid a slowdown in emerging markets in Asia.
Underlying sales rose 2.1% in the period ended 30 September, the London- and Rotterdam-based company said on Thursday in a statement. The median estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 3.9% increase.
Unilever, along with other consumer-product companies, has struggled to lift sales over the past year as emerging markets continue to decelerate while mature regions like Europe stagnate. Finance chief Jean-Marc Huet said last month that market growth has shrunk to less than 2%, from 4% in 2013, with no signs of improvement.
“We expect markets to remain tough for at least the remainder of the year," chief executive officer Paul Polman said in the statement. “We have further accelerated our initiatives to remove unnecessary cost, simplify the business and ensure that Unilever is both agile and resilient."
Emerging markets such as India and Indonesia, which account for about 57% of Unilever’s sales, grew 5.6%, slower than the first half’s 6.6% uptick and a far cry from the 12% growth it enjoyed in the same period two years ago. Revenue in developed regions fell 2.5%.
“Relative to hopes of improvement, conditions remain bleak in Unilever’s markets," Martin Deboo, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a note prior to Thursday’s results.
Unilever shares rose 0.2% to €30.30 in Amsterdam on Wednesday, and have risen 3.5% this year. Bloomberg
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