Unilever: first-quarter organic growth boosts shares
(CercleFinance.com) - Food and consumer goods giant Unilever beat forecasts with a 3.
1% increase in first-quarter underlying sales and its shares rose after this solid start kept the company on track for its full year expectations.
The Anglo-Dutch group - which makes Knorr soups, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Magnum ice cream - added that performance was helped by its emerging market business, which grew 5% organically over the past quarter.
"The small organic sales growth beat (+3.1% vs consensus of +2.8%) is likely to be taken well today; but we don't anticipate large upgrades to consensus EPS," UBS noted this morning.
Yet, Unilever Plc shares are currently up 3.3% at 4,524.5 pence, making them the biggest riser on the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index. In Amsterdam, Unilever NV shares are up 3.4% at 52.5 euros.
For the full year, Unilever still expects underlying sales growth to be in the lower half of a 3%-5% range.
The group has increased its quarterly dividend by 6% to 0.4104 euro per share.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
1% increase in first-quarter underlying sales and its shares rose after this solid start kept the company on track for its full year expectations.
The Anglo-Dutch group - which makes Knorr soups, Hellmann's mayonnaise and Magnum ice cream - added that performance was helped by its emerging market business, which grew 5% organically over the past quarter.
"The small organic sales growth beat (+3.1% vs consensus of +2.8%) is likely to be taken well today; but we don't anticipate large upgrades to consensus EPS," UBS noted this morning.
Yet, Unilever Plc shares are currently up 3.3% at 4,524.5 pence, making them the biggest riser on the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index. In Amsterdam, Unilever NV shares are up 3.4% at 52.5 euros.
For the full year, Unilever still expects underlying sales growth to be in the lower half of a 3%-5% range.
The group has increased its quarterly dividend by 6% to 0.4104 euro per share.
Copyright (c) 2019 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.