Unilever sees 'subdued' start to 2025; Ice-cream unit to demerge

(Sharecast News) - Multinational consumer goods company Unilever on Thursday said it expected a slow start to the current financial year with "subdued" market growth in the near term and announced a €1.5bn share buyback after a 12.6% rise in annual profit to €11.2bn. "We expect the market and our growth to improve during the year as price increases, reflecting higher commodity costs in 2025. We expect a more balanced split between volume and price," the company said.

It added that the ice-cream business, which includes the Ben & Jerry's and Magnum brands, would be separated via a demerger and listed in Amsterdam, London and New York following a full review of options.

Underlying sales grew 4%, compared with forecasts of 4.1% in a company-compiled poll. Unilever now expects full year 2025 growth within its multi-year range of 3% - 5%.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com