Unilever puts prices up 2.3% to cover higher costs as quarterly sales grow 5.2%
The company behind Dove, Lynx and Comfort sold more as well as charging more in the three months to September, and now expects volumes to grow at least 3% this year.
Unilever raised its prices by an average of 2.3% between July and September as it passed on higher costs for the raw materials used in its products.
The figure comes from the consumer goods group's third-quarter trading update, published on Wednesday morning. Underlying sales rose 5.2% compared with the same period last year. Of that, 2.9 percentage points came from selling more products and 2.3 points from higher prices.
Turnover for the quarter was €13.3bn, about £11bn. The 5.2% sales growth was ahead of the 4.8% that analysts had expected, according to a consensus forecast gathered by the company.
Which brands are doing the work
The brands Unilever calls its power brands grew faster than the rest of the business. Their sales were up 5.8%, with volumes up 3.3%. The Grocer highlighted Dove, Lynx and Comfort among the brands behind the growth.
The company said price rises were mainly needed in its home care and personal care products because commodity costs had gone up.
Food was the weak spot. Sales in the foods division were flat, with growth in emerging markets and in Unilever's catering business offset by softer trading in supermarkets in developed countries. Unilever has agreed to sell its food business to McCormick, and The Grocer reported that filings for regulatory approval had been submitted on schedule.
An average, not a shelf price
The 2.3% is an average across the whole group worldwide, so it does not tell UK shoppers what has happened to the price of any particular product on the shelf here. The chief executive, Fernando Fernandez, said volumes had stayed strong while the company stepped up pricing to offset higher commodity costs, and that Unilever was concentrating more on its home and personal care ranges.
Over the first nine months of the year, underlying sales were up 4.9% and volumes 3.8%.
Unilever now expects underlying volume growth of at least 3% for 2026 as a whole, up from its previous guidance. It said sales growth in the second half should be around 5%, and full-year growth would stay within its usual target range of 4% to 6%.
