A container of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream sits in a freezer at a store in London, England, Thursday, April 25, 2024. Unilever has said it wants to cut its ice cream division, which has about $US8 billion ($8.5 billion) in annual sales, to reverse years of slump.
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Unilever Shares were up 6.8% on Thursday morning after the consumer goods giant raised its full-year profit margin outlook and said the spinoff of its ice cream business is on track to be completed by the end of 2025.
The British company, which owns a wide range of brands including Dove, Axe, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Domesto, Marmite and Vaseline, recorded sales growth across all segments in 2015. First Half Results The beauty and health sector expanded 7.1 percent, but ice cream lagged behind other sectors, growing just 0.6 percent.
The company announced in March that it would spin off its ice cream division, which includes Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, as it seeks to streamline its business across beauty and health, personal care, home care and nutrition.
Organic sales growth in the second quarter came in at 3.9%, missing the company’s consensus estimate of a 4.2% increase.
Analysts at Jefferies said the announcement would be overshadowed by the company’s better-than-expected gross margin for the period and an increased margin outlook of at least 18% for the full year. The company had previously forecast “moderate expansion” in its operating margin for the period.
“This margin commitment will get consensus. [earnings per share] “We think it will go up about 7-8 percent,” the analysts said.
This news bulletin is being updated.
