Jan 26, 2017
Unilever shares suffer as growth proves elusive
Emerging markets represent 58 per cent of Unilever sales, more than its peers, and it is heavily dependent on them for growth. Revenues fell 1 per cent to €52.7bn. Yet full-year underlying sales growth of 3.7 per cent, while below analysts' expectations of 3.9 per cent, was well within Unilever's 3-5 per cent target and compares favourably with the few peers to have so far reported results. Procter & Gamble, Unilever's larger US rival, last week raised its forecast for full-year sales growth from 2 per cent to between 2 and 3 per cent for the year to June 2017 - hardly pulse-racing. Beiersdorf, the German manufacturer of Nivea cream, last week reported organic sales growth of 3.2 per cent in 2016, while analysts at Deutsche Bank expect Nestlé, Europe's largest consumer goods group, to report organic revenue growth of 3.4 per cent next month. Unlike Nestlé, which makes 28 per cent of its sales in the US, the country represents 15 per cent for Unilever.
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