Unilever 1Q 2018 Revenue Falls; Announces EUR6 Billion Buyback Program
April 19 2018 - 3:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Maryam Cockar
Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) said Thursday that revenue for the first
quarter of 2018 fell 5.2% due to adverse currency movements and the
impact of disposals, and that it will return 6 billion euros ($7.43
billion) to shareholders.
The group, whose brands include Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's
ice cream, said revenue for the quarter was EUR12.60 billion
compared with EUR13.30 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue, excluding the spreads business the company recently sold,
was EUR11.90 billion.
Underlying sales, which strips out the impact of
foreign-exchange movements, grew 3.4% compared with 2.9% growth the
previous year. Excluding the spreads disposal, underlying sales
growth was 3.7%.
The FTSE 100-listed company's underlying sales growth was 5.1%
in emerging markets, down from the 6.1% growth reported a year
earlier. In developed markets, sales declined by 1.1%, a
deterioration from the 1.5% fall last year.
The company said it will start a share buyback program of up to
EUR6 billion in May in order to return the expected after-tax
proceeds from the spreads disposal to shareholders.
Unilever raised the quarterly dividend to EUR0.3872 a share from
EUR0.3585.
Chief Executive Paul Polman said for 2018 Unilever continues to
expect underlying sales growth in the range of between 3% and 5%,
and an improvement in underlying operating margin and cash flow to
keep the group on track to meet its 2020 goals.
Write to Maryam Cockar at maryam.cockar@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2018 02:50 ET (06:50 GMT)
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