Unilever's Basic Sales Increased by 3% in the First Quarter of 2025

Unilever recently announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The British fast-moving consumer goods giant achieved a basic sales growth of 3% in the quarter, of which volume growth contributed 1.3 percentage points and price growth contributed 1.7 percentage points. The group's turnover reached 14.8 billion euros, a slight decrease of 0.9% from the same period last year, mainly affected by asset divestitures. It is worth noting that Unilever reiterated its full-year performance expectations for 2025, expecting basic sales to maintain a growth range of 3% to 5%, while the basic operating profit margin is expected to increase slightly.

This quarter's performance highlights were frequent, and its core brand Dove performed particularly well, with sales achieving a strong growth of 8%. From the perspective of business segments, the beauty and health department grew by 4.1% overall, among which health brands continued to maintain a rapid double-digit growth momentum; the personal care business also achieved a considerable growth of 5.1%. CEO Fernando Fernandez said: "We have made a solid start to the year. The 3% underlying sales growth in the first quarter fully demonstrates the advantages of our premium, innovation-driven product portfolio in developed markets. In some emerging markets, we have taken positive measures to accumulate momentum for subsequent growth."

Facing the challenges of global macroeconomic uncertainty, Fernandez emphasized: "We are confident of achieving our full-year targets with our excellent innovation plan, continued brand investment and continuous improvement in operating efficiency. By building a portfolio of broadly attractive brands and excellent market execution, we are accelerating Unilever's transformation into a consistently high-performing company. The company is developing well and we are confident that we can continue to make progress in 2025 and beyond."