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Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever sees global u

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Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever sees global u

# data[].attributes.body
Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever sees global u

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

# data[].attributes.body
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

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Unilever Full Year 2017 R
 Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever Full Year 2017 Results
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes
Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017
Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017
Unilever financial performance
Unilever financial performance
Unilever Global site
Unilever Global site
Unilever UK home page
Unilever UK home page
Unilever might leave UK
Unilever might leave UK
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Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

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Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

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Unilever Plc, the Anglo-Dutch parent of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), said challenging conditions in India and Brazil, two of its largest markets, had crimped its earnings last year.

The company's 2016 revenue declined 1% to €52.7 billion. Net profit rose 5.5% to €5.5 billion. The Indian unit contributes a little less than 10% of overall revenue and a little more than 10% of profit.

"We have delivered another good all-round performance despite severe economic disruptions, particularly in India and Brazil, two of our largest markets," Paul Polman, Unilever's CEO, said in a conference call with investors on Thursday.

Unilever attributed the poor performance of its Indian unit to demonetisation (India scrapped old high-value currency notes on 8 November).

ALSO READ | HUL Q3 results: Demonetisation hurts but input costs a bigger worry

"In India, growth was below historic levels, particularly in the last quarter when demand was adversely impacted by the removal of the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes," said the company in its 2016 full year results statement on its website.

And it expects the recovery to be slow. The consumer goods giant also expects the March quarter performance to be soft. Restocking will start by February and March, and it will be "April as we come out of this", Polman said.

To be sure, the maker of Knorr soups, Surf detergents and Lux soaps had mentioned the tepid performance of its Indian unit even in the September quarter as costlier inputs forced HUL to raise prices of some skincare products, affecting sales.

Sales (in terms of volume) at the Indian subsidiary have now shrunk for two quarters in a row. In September, HUL reported a 1% decline in sales volume, the first in 30 quarters. The decline in December was even sharper at 4% because of demonetisation, which also affected the wholesale trade that is largely cash-dependent.

The India business may continue to face headwinds in the short term from the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) which may come into effect starting 1 July. "We have to see what the consequences are (of GST) as we work our way through to it," Polman said, although he recognized that GST will benefit the firm in the long term.

In the December quarter, HUL's net profit rose 6.83% to Rs1,037.9 crore, boosted by a one-time gain from the sale of properties. Revenue fell 1.24% from a year ago to Rs8,226.5 crore. The fall in revenue was lower than the volume decline as the firm raised prices of some personal care and home care products, mainly due to commodity price increases; palm oil and crude oil prices have risen sharply.

Since the announcement of its earnings on Monday, HUL's shares have risen 0.68% while the Sensex has gained 2.2%.

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Unilever blames India, Brazil for earnings woes

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Unilever Plc, the Anglo-Dutch parent of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), said challenging conditions in India and Brazil, two of its largest markets, had crimped its earnings last year. The company's 2016 revenue declined 1% to €52.7 billion. Net profit rose 5.5% to €5.5 billion.

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Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017

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Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017

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Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017

by Keith Nunes

Search for similar articles by keyword: [ Unilever]

Unilever experienced growth in its Hellmann's and Knorr brands.

LONDON - Challenging market conditions in Brazil, India and Turkey weighed heavily on Unilever's earnings during 2016, and Paul Polman, chief executive officer, said such troubles may hinder the company in 2017 as well.

Paul Polman, c.e.o. of Unilever

"After the unpredictable events in 2016, this year promises to be more of the same," he said Jan. 26, during a conference call to discuss the company's 2016 results. "The upheaval and accelerated change I talked about before that is actually shaping the environment that we operate in will continue: subdued economic growth, geopolitical tension, the resultant backlash against globalization and technology, a planet under increasing environmental stress, and the fragmentation of consumer trends, shopping channels and media. Brexit and the U.S. elections, in my opinion, have further added, in the medium term, to these uncertainties."

Unilever's net income for the year was €5,370 million ($5,734 million), equal to €1.94 ($2.07) per share on the common stock and a slight increase compared with the previous year when net income was €5,210 million ($5,562 million), or €1.78 ($1.90) per share.

Sales during 2016 were €52,713 million ($56,266 million), down 1% compared with 2015.

Unilever's return on invested capital in ice cream has increased by more than 300 basis points over the last two years.

"Global G.D.P. growth was downgraded to an estimated 2.3%, the weakest since 2009," Mr. Polman said. "Consumer confidence dropped further in most major geographies. The number of markets, where we have some of the largest businesses, saw the effect of unique country-related shocks. We had the unexpected and immediate demonetization in India, the deepening economic crisis in Brazil, sharp currency devaluations in the U.K., Turkey, Egypt and many others.

"But the big picture is that the global market growth in our categories in terms of volume was flat for the year. Including pricing, value market growth was between 2% and 2.5% for the year."

In Unilever's two foods-related business units - Foods and Refreshment - results were mixed. Within the Foods business, the company experienced growth in dressings and savory, particularly from its Hellmann's and Knorr brands. Sales in the company's spreads business declined due to weakness in developed markets.

Unilever's tea business experienced a strong performance during the year.

Refreshment, which consists of Unilever's ice cream and tea businesses, experienced a strong performance during the year, according to the company.

"(Refreshment) made good progress against its goals whilst delivering a U.S.G. (underlying sales growth) of 3.5% on the back of a very strong year in 2015," Mr. Polman said. "Our return on invested capital in ice cream has increased by more than 300 basis points over the last two years and is now 15%. Over the same period, cash flow has also stepped up. We have strengthened our portfolio with one-third of our ice cream sales now in premium positions.

"Tea had another year of solid growth as we extend into the more attractive premium segment where we outpaced segment growth to particularly compensate for the low growth in the bulk of our business, which is still the regular black tea segment of the market."

Unilever's spreads business was down mid-single digit for the year.

As for Unilever's spreads business, which it separated into a stand-alone unit within Foods in 2015, it was down mid-single digit for the year, Mr. Polman said.

" ... With the new organizational structure, we've been able to improve absolute cash profit by about ($80 million)," he said. "In America, we've actually seen the market pick up a little bit, and there are signs in Europe, with the increase in the milk prices now and related butter prices, that the attention that we've had, which was really unprecedented in the history of spreads, that attention is becoming a little bit less.

"We've become faster; we've introduced the plant-based products; we're seeing really some benefits behind that. But at the same time, we maintain our responsibility to look at other options where they're needed. But the conclusion right now is that, for our shareholders, it's better that we continue to manage this business in the way we're doing."

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Unilever sees global uncertainty of 2016 carrying over into 2017

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by Keith Nunes Search for similar articles by keyword: [ Unilever] Unilever experienced growth in its Hellmann's and Knorr brands. LONDON - Challenging market conditions in Brazil, India and Turkey weighed heavily on Unilever's earnings during 2016, and Paul Polman, chief executive officer, said such troubles may hinder the company in 2017 as well.

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Ahead of COP28, Eric Soubeiran shares his views in Reuters Industry Insight on how businesses can unlock faster climate action and what we need from governments to help accelerate our progress.

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Unilever Global: Making sustainable living commonplace | Unilever

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At Unilever we meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.

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We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone working at Unilever, without exception, feels able to bring their complete and authentic self to work. We want all our employees to thrive every day irrespective of race, ability, sexual orientation, or gender.

To grow the best teams and future leaders, and to serve shoppers with the best products, we need to build brands and teams that reflect the diversity of the world we live in.

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We're committed to building an inclusive culture where everyone working at Unilever, without exception, feels able to bring their complete and authentic self to work. We want all our employees to thrive every day irrespective of race, ability, sexual orientation, or gender.

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Unilever is expected to make a call on where it will base its headquarters within the next couple of weeks, with the Government bracing for the Dove maker to pick the Netherlands over the UK.

Boss Paul Polman earlier this month said the group was likely to complete its review into where to house its legal base by the end of the first quarter.

It is now thought that a decision is likely to come during the second week of March, during its next scheduled board meeting, although no decision has yet been taken.

The review into where to house Unilever's legal base has been highly politicised, with both the UK and Dutch governments wading in to try to win over the manufacturer.

Last year, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte staged a play for the business, offering to slash corporation tax and abolish a tax on dividends.

Meanwhile, the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Wednesday evening confirmed that it was "in regular contact with Unilever and we will continue to work with them during this process".

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Government prepares for Unilever picking Netherlands over UK

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Unilever is expected to make a call on where it will base its headquarters within the next couple of weeks, with the Government bracing for the Dove maker to pick the Netherlands over the UK. Boss Paul Polman earlier this month said the group was likely to complete its review into where to house its legal base by the end of the first quarter.