Member Article

Unilever posts 6% dip in profits

London-headquartered consumer goods company Unilever has posted a 6% fall in profits.

The British-Dutch multinational, which boasts big name brands such as Ben and Jerry’s, Persil and Marmite in its product portfolio, saw operating profit fall to £5.7bn, down from £6bn in 2014. This is despite posting a 10% growth in turnover in the last 12 months which rose to £40bn.

Unilever have blamed the slide in profits in its yearly results on company disposals in 2014 which served to boost operating profits for that year.

With sales growth up 4.1%, including 7.1% growth in emerging markets, Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, still found reasons to be cheerful and said: “Despite a challenging year with slower global economic growth, intensifying geopolitical instability, and high currency and commodity volatility we have again grown ahead of our markets, driven by our innovations and increased support behind our brands.

“The 2015 results further demonstrate the progress we have made in transforming Unilever into a more resilient business, capable of consistently delivering competitive underlying sales growth, margin expansion and strong cash flow.”

On the wider economic prospects for 2016, Paul struck a more cautionary tone adding: “We are preparing ourselves for tougher market conditions and high volatility in 2016, as world events in recent weeks have highlighted. Therefore it is vital that we drive agility and cost discipline across our business.”