Unilever 1Q Sales Fell; Raises Quarterly Dividend
18 Abril 2019 - 03:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Anthony Shevlin
Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) said Thursday that first-quarter revenue
fell, driven by the disposal of its spreads business, but the
company is on track for its full-year targets.
Unilever, owner of the Hellmann's mayonnaise, Dove soap and Ben
& Jerry's ice cream brands, said revenue for the quarter was
12.4 billion euros ($14.01 billion), compared with EUR12.6 billion
the previous year.
Underlying sales, which strip out the impact of foreign-exchange
movements, grew 3.1%. Underlying sales in emerging markets rose
5%.
The Anglo-Dutch company said it expects underlying sales growth
to be in the lower half of its 3% to 5% multiyear guidance range.
However, it continues to expect an improvement in underlying
operating margin as well as strong free cash flow.
The company raised its quarterly dividend by 6% to EUR0.4104 per
share, it said.
Alan Jope, chief executive of Unilever, said: "We have delivered
a solid start that keeps ups on track for our full-year
expectations. Growth was led by emerging markets and was balanced
between volume and price."
Write to Anthony Shevlin at anthony.shevlin@dowjones.com;
@anthony_shevlin
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2019 02:30 ET (06:30 GMT)
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