UL - Unilever stock dips as new action plan leaves investors unimpressed
2023-10-26 06:19:40 ET
Unilever ( NYSE: UL ) shares fell over 3% premarket on Thursday after the consumer goods firm announced its results for the third quarter of 2023 and outlined a plan to streamline business and drive growth.
The London-based company reported turnover of €15.2B that fell 3.8% year-over-year. Underlying sales growth in the quarter was 5.2% with 5.8% from price and (0.6)% from volume.
Underlying price growth continued to moderate as inflation eased, with underlying volumes now positive in Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care and Home Care segments.
The company kept its 2023 outlook unchanged, expecting an underlying sales growth above 5% and a modest improvement in underlying operating margin.
CEO Hein Schumacher outlined an action plan to achieve faster growth, admitting that "performance in recent years has not matched potential. The quality of our growth, productivity and returns have all under-delivered."
The company will now focus on 30 key brands which account for 70% of its sales, work to improve gross margin and not undertake any major or transformational acquisitions, the executive said.
Separately, Unilever ( UL ) named Fernando Fernandez as its new chief financial officer, effective January 1, 2024. Fernando, currently president of Unilever's Beauty & Wellbeing Business Group, will replace Graeme Pitkethly, who announced his decision to retire from the company earlier this year.
More on Unilever
- Unilever: Bears Are Getting It Wrong Again
- Unilever Stock Can Potentially Beat The Market, With Resilient Revenue Stream
- Unilever: Not Appealing In Spite Of Decent Dividend Yield
- Unilever up amid report of Q-Tip unit sale exploration
- Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Unilever
For further details see:
Unilever stock dips as new action plan leaves investors unimpressed