Unilever beats third-quarter underlying sales estimate

By Richa Naidu

LONDON (Reuters) - Unilever achieved slightly better than expected underlying quarterly sales after winning back more shoppers with product innovations and slower price increases, posting its biggest gain in sales volumes in three-and a-half-years.

The consumer goods giant said on Thursday it was keeping its full-year outlook for 3-5% underlying sales growth and an underlying operating margin of at least 18%.

The maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's condiments reported a 4.5% rise in third-quarter underlying sales, beating analysts' average forecast of a 4.2% increase, according to a company-provided consensus.

Underlying price growth for the quarter was 0.9% while underlying volume sales growth was 3.5%, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2021 when Unilever reported a 4.7% rise in volumes. Analysts had expected a 1% increase in prices and a 3.2% rise in volumes for the third quarter.

"We have delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of positive, improved volume growth, with each of our business groups driving higher volumes year-on-year," CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement.

(Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

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