Unilever sales rise 12% in Jan-Mar quarter
Consumer goods giant Unilever today reported 12% growth in total sales to 12.14 billion pounds (USD 19.65 billion) in the first quarter of 2012, driven by strong sales in emerging markets, including India.
April 27, 2012 / 13:39 IST
Consumer goods giant Unilever today reported 12% growth in total sales to 12.14 billion pounds (USD 19.65 billion) in the first quarter of 2012, driven by strong sales in emerging markets, including India.
The entity had total sales of 10.85 billion pounds in January-March of 2011, Unilever said in a statement."The first quarter results reflect solid performance in challenging market conditions," the company said. "Despite sluggish economies, weak consumer confidence in many markets and sustained levels of competitive intensity, all of our categories grew strongly with a positive contribution from volume," it added.Emerging markets, which now hold 56% of the total market share of Unilever, registered sales growth of 11.9% to 6.7 billion pounds, while developed markets were up 4.2% to 5.44 billion pounds."Strong growth, ahead of our markets, was driven by good erformances in Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Turkey," the company said.Unilever, which sells consumer brands such as Lifebuoy, Sunlight, Pond's, Lipton, Knorr, Dove and Axe, said that the company's performance is pleasing given struggling economies, continued fragile consumer confidence and competitor activity.The company's underlying sales, excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency movements, climbed 8.4% from year-earlier to 12.14 billion pounds during the quarter under review.Unilever posted a volume growth of 3.5% and price increase of 4.7% in the first quarter of 2012.In terms of segments, personal care segment earned a sale of 4.26 billion pounds on account of Lifebuoy's market campaign in India.In addition, Unilever registered sales of 3.56 billion pounds from food segment, sales from home care operations was 2.19 billion pounds and refreshment's sales were at 2.11 billion pounds. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
