Unilever's (ULVR) home and personal care business was again the group's star performer at the half-year stage, with emerging markets operations acting as the main growth driver. Overall, Unilever's underlying half-year sales rose 5 per cent year on year, while the operating margin jumped 14 basis points to 14 per cent.
Personal care's sales grew 8 per cent to €9.1bn (£7.8bn), while home care's sales jumped almost 10 per cent to €4.6bn - both units benefited from wider operating margins and strong volumes. The laundry side performed particularly well, reflecting product innovation, while the launch of Cif and Domestos in Brazil helped sales, too. But the food and refreshment categories were rather slower - sales there rose just 0.2 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively. Price increases helped offset lower volumes in both operations, while, in food, promotional activity and advertising squeezed the operating margin by 30 basis points.
Geographically, meanwhile, the emerging markets performance outshone that of its developed regions - emerging markets sales soared 10 per cent to €14.6bn, helped by both volume and price increases. By contrast, Unilever's developed market sales slipped 1.6 per cent to €11bn - both prices and volumes there fell.
Deutsche Bank expects adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of €6.93bn in 2013, giving EPS of 162¢ (from €6.62bn and 153¢ in 2012).
| UNILEVER (ULVR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,648p | MARKET VALUE: | €78.8bn† | |
| TOUCH: | 2,648-2,649p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,908p | LOW: 2,137p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 430¢* | NET DEBT: | 87% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€bn) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 25.4 | 3.20 | 75.0 | 38.7 |
| 2013 | 25.5 | 3.66 | 86.0 | 46.0 |
| % change | - | +14 | +15 | +19 |
Ex-div: 7 Aug** Payment: 11 Sep** *Includes intangible assets of €21.5bn, or 718¢ a share †Reflects combined value of Unilever plc and Unilever NV £1=€1.16 | ||||
