Unilever shares slip after dropping spreads
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FTSE 100 consumer goods giant Unilever (LON:ULVR) has reported that turnover in 2018 fell by 5.1% following the disposal of its spreads products. The company said that its revenues were negatively impacted by currency movements, but operating margins improved by 810 basis points.
CEO Alan Jope commented: “2018 was a solid year for Unilever, with good volume growth and high-quality margin progression.
“Looking forward, accelerating growth will be our number one priority. With so many of our brands enjoying leadership positions, we have significant opportunities to develop our markets, as well as to benefit from our deep global reach and purpose-led brands.
“We will capitalise on our strengthened organisation and portfolio, and our digital transformation programme, to bring higher levels of speed and agility. Strong delivery from our savings programmes will improve productivity and fund our growth ambitions.
“In 2019 we expect market conditions to remain challenging. We anticipate underlying sales growth will be in the lower half of our multi-year 3-5% range, with continued improvement in underlying operating margin and another year of strong free cash flow. We remain on track for our 2020 goals“.
Unilever’s share price dropped by 2.91% to 3,947p (as of 12:30 GMT).
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