Unilever has reported a bumper third quarter of trading supported by strong beauty sales.
Sales increased by 3.9% and turnover reached €14.7bn, which was driven by the consumer giant’s Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care divisions.
Beauty & Wellbeing sales increased by 5.1% and Personal Care grew by 3.1% driven by demand for Vaseline, Liquid I.V., Nutrafol, Hourglass and K18.
Unilever’s ‘power brands’, including Dove, Rexona and Sunsilk, also drove sales growth and contributed 78% of turnover for the quarter.
“We continued to outperform in developed markets in the third quarter, led by our strong innovation programme, and, following decisive interventions, stepped up our emerging markets performance with a return to growth in Indonesia and China,” said Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez.
“Growth was broad-based across all business groups and driven by our power brands.”
Unilever’s Hair Care division growth was flat, with performance varying across brands.
Dove’s hair care offering grew double-digit and that was supported by the successful roll out of its new fibre repair technology range.
Hair care brand Tresemme, meanwhile, grew low single-digit figures as increased momentum in styling and treatment ranges helped to offset volume decline in the US.
Unilever’s Skin Care business benefited from double-digit growth from Vaseline, thanks to demand for its new Cloud Soft Light Moisturiser in India.
Unilever’s Prestige Beauty segment also grew mid-single digit, with brands including cosmetics business Hourglass and hair care brand K18 reporting growth.
Paula’s Choice and Dermalogica also returned to growth after declining in the first half of the year.
Fernandez added: “We expect to complete the demerger of the ice cream business by the end of the year.
“This will create a simpler Unilever, with a sharper focus and structurally higher margin profile.
“We are shaping a brand portfolio that is built for the future – with more beauty, wellbeing and personal care, prioritising premium segments and digital commerce, and anchoring our growth in the US and India.
“By putting desire at scale at the core of our strategy, and executing with excellence across every channel, we are setting Unilever up to win.”
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