New CEO of Unilever promises to focus on growth

Consumer goods giant Unilever reported 4.9% growth in underlying sales in the fourth quarter, below badysts' expectations of 3.5%, hampered by competition in developed markets such as than the United States.

The new chief executive, Alan Jope, who has just taken over from veteran Paul Polman, predicted that organic sales growth would accelerate this year to "be in the lower half of our multi-year range of 3 to 5 % ", Despite what he called difficult market conditions.

In 2018, organic growth, which excludes foreign exchange, acquisitions and divestments, was 2.9%, while the operating margin improved to 18.4% against 17.5% for 2017, thanks to ongoing efforts to reduce costs.

"2018 was a good year for Unilever, with good volume growth and high margin growth," said Jope. "For the future, accelerating growth will be our number one priority."

Unilever achieves 60% of its revenue in emerging markets, where some large countries like Brazil, Turkey and Argentina are going through periods of volatility with currencies weakened against the dollar.

In addition, the growth of the consumer goods sector as a whole has been slow in recent years as large multinationals struggle with the emergence of new emerging brands, often marketed on social media and positioned as more authentic, local or ethical.

Mr. Jope reiterated that he would stick to the margin target set by his predecessor, which was aiming for a 20% operating margin by 2020. After the acquisition of Kraft -Heinz in 2017, Unilever has managed to reduce its costs. across the sector, raising fears among some investors that it was not investing enough in its brands for future growth.

The annual turnover amounts to 51 billion euros, against a consensus of 51.1 billion euros for badysts, while the net profit amounts to 9.8 billion euros, thanks to the proceeds from the sale of the spreads business, ahead of a consensus of 6.26 billion euros.

Unilever shares rose 1.6% in 2018, a 4.3% drop in Nestlé's European equivalent. The MSCI Europe Consumer Staples Index fell 10.5% last year, mainly because of tobacco stocks such as British American Tobacco.