“Unilever (UNA), the world’s second-largest consumer-goods maker, reported revenue growth that beat estimates for a third straight quarter, led by gains in North and South America and demand for personal-care products.
Sales excluding acquisitions and currency shifts rose 7.8 percent in the three months to Dec. 31, London- and Rotterdam- based Unilever said today, exceeding the 6.2 percent average estimate of 13 analysts polled by Bloomberg. The quantity of goods sold gained 4.8 percent, more than the 4 percent estimated by analysts and the biggest quarterly gain in two years.
“It was an excellent quarter for Unilever, continuing its run of high quality, consistently strong performance,” Andrew Wood, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in a note. “While the lack of growth in foods and Europe remains a worry, the overall performance remains impressive.”
Unilever rose as much as 3 percent in Amsterdam trading, the most in three months. Sales growth of 12 percent in the Americas, which represent a third of the company’s 51.3 billion euros ($68.4 billion) in annual revenue, was more than double the estimate of analysts such as Alain-Sebastian Oberhuber at MainFirst Schweiz AG. The Anglo-Dutch company has been pushing brands including Magnum ice cream in emerging markets such as Indonesia and Brazilto offset slowing growth in other regions.
Unilever’s results put pressure on Danone (BN) and Nestle SA (NESN), which are both scheduled to report full-year results next month. The maker of Knorr soups said today it expects “difficult” economic conditions to persist this year.
