Multinational consumer goods company Unilever Plc 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