Unilever needs 4-5 years growth to catch peers

Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever will need four to five years of growth to catch up with rivals such as Procter & Gamble and Nestle, its chief executive told a Dutch paper.

"We have lost the connection with the world top. If we want to grow consistently the next five years and again want to become one of the bigger companies, we have to change the culture," CEO Paul Polman is quoted as saying on Thursday in Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad.

The maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soaps has grown too little in the past 10 to 15 years and therefore did not create enough shareholder value, Polman said.

Unilever wants to double its sales on the long term, Polman said.

"The market wants to see more than a good quarter before believing Unilever has truly changed. We still have much to prove," Polman is quoted as saying.