Page 85 - General Cases 1

Unilever

During 2016, Unilever increased its

sales by 3.7pc to €52.7bn, driven

by a 0.9pc rise in volumes and
2.8pc increase in prices.

Sales across its developed markets
fell 0.2pc to €22.5bn, driven lower

by lacklustre trading in Europe, while emerging market

revenues rose 6.5pc to €30.2m, on the back of a 5.4pc rise in

prices. Operating margin increased by 50 basis points,
thanks to cost savings, helping to boost pre-tax profits

by 3.4pc to €7.47bn

Over 2016 Unilever continued to expand through acquisition
but there was no mention, of a sale of Unilever's flagging

spreads business, which had long been rumoured for

disposal.

January 2017, saw Unilever’s chief executive Paul Polman,

defend the company’s decision to increase prices on its UK

products after the pound fell in value following the EU
referendum, saying that it was “definitely the right one,

otherwise you end up being unsustainable”. Unilever

claimed that it had no choice but to put up its prices

because the weak pound meant the cost of producing its
branded foods, detergents and cosmetics had risen sharply

because of the cost of importing goods or ingredients.