Unilever on track to meet targets

Unilever (ULVR) chief executive Paul Polman is so confident the consumer goods giant will be able to stick to its 3 to 5 per cent target for underlying sales growth that he’s increased the dividend by 8 per cent, in addition to a €6bn (£5.2bn) share buyback. During the first quarter this goal was met, with 3.4 per cent underlying sales growth, or 3.7 per cent once you strip out the now sold spreads business, with growth across all three core divisions.