Unilever announced its first-quarter financial results, with an underlying sales growth of 3%. Overall sales dipped 0.9%, which the company attributed to a shaky environment for consumers worldwide.

Recently, Fernando Fernandez replaced Hein Schumacher as chief executive officer. In his first quarterly update, Fernadez said, 

“We have started the year with a resilient performance. First quarter underlying sales growth of 3% reflects the strength of our increasingly premium and innovation-led portfolio in developed markets. We have interventions in place in some emerging markets to step up growth in the remainder of the year.

Beauty & Wellbeing grew underlying sales by 4.1%, with volume growth of 2.5% and price growth of 1.5%, driven by continued strong double-digit growth from our Wellbeing brands. Personal Care grew 5.1%, with volume up 2.7%, driven by the performance of Skin Cleansing and Deodorants in North America. 

Unilever noted Dove as one of its Power Brands, which grew 8% and helped with overall brand growth. Other Power Brands include Vaseline, Liquid I.V., and Magnum. 

By region, the Indian market grew by 3%, driven by volume growth in Home Care and Beauty & Wellbeing. Market growth in China remained subdued, and underlying sales declined in high single digits.

Fernandez added, 

“Creating desirability at scale for our brands and brilliant in-market execution are the pillars of our plan to turn Unilever into a consistently higher-performing business. We are moving at pace, confident in making progress in 2025 and beyond.”

As Unilever looks ahead, the company expects underlying sales growth to be within the 3% to 5% range, with high expectations from its innovation pipeline. 

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