UN Unilever NV

By Olga Cotaga

LONDON--Consumer-products giant Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) said Thursday that rising sales volume and higher prices helped lift 2016 pretax profit by 4.2%, offsetting lower turnover and tough markets in India and Brazil.

Unilever, whose brands include Hellmann's mayonnaise, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, said difficult market conditions are likely to persist in the first half of 2017, giving it a slow start to the year.

Full-year pretax profit was of 7.47 billion euros ($8 billion) in 2016, compared with EUR7.22 billion in 2015.

Revenue fell to EUR52.71 billion from EUR53.27 billion against analysts' forecasts of EUR52.83 billion.

The international retailer also reported adjusted earnings per share of EUR1.88 for the year. Analysts had penciled in EPS of EUR1.87.

Sales volumes increased 0.9%, while prices rose 2.8%, beating analysts' expectations.

Unilever shares closed Wednesday at 3,348.5 pence.

-Write to Olga Cotaga at olga.cotaga@wsj.com, Twitter @OlgaCotaga

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2017 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT)

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