Unilever surges after ditching ‘virtue-signalling’ agenda

Unilever sales have soared under a turnaround plan that has steered it away from its ‘virtue-signalling’ woke agenda.

The consumer goods giant – whose brands include Magnum ice-cream, Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise – said sales rose 4.5 per cent in the three months to September 30.

The FTSE 100 group said the volume of goods it sold rose while price increases eased. Shares rose 2.9 per cent, or 137p, to 4,790p in a vote of confidence in chief executive Hein Schumacher’s revival mission.

Schumacher said the group was ‘starting to see the positive impact’ of his strategy, which includes a focus on ‘doing fewer things, better’.

The Dutchman, who took over from Alan Jope in July 2023, has vowed to stop ‘force-fitting’ social justice messaging on to brands, describing it as a ‘distraction’ for some of the products.

Investors had fiercely critibusiness cised the notion that the group should prioritise doing good in the world above profit.

Fund manager Terry Smith accused the company of ‘virtue-signalling’ after it claimed Hellmann’s mayonnaise had a social purpose.

Schumacher also plans to spin off the group’s ice-cream and save about £700million with 7,500 job cuts.

The ice-cream arm, which includes Wall’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Magnum, was one of the best performers in the third quarter, with sales up nearly 10 per cent. 

Unilever put this down to ‘strong innovations’, such as bite-sized offers from Magnum and Ben & Jerry’s. 

Unilever was tight-lipped about the future of the unit, which could be listed in London, New York or Amsterdam.

With inflation easing, Unilever said prices of goods were just 0.9 per cent higher in the third quarter than a year earlier, down from a 1pc year-on-year rise in the second quarter.

At the peak of the cost-of-living crisis in late 2022, prices were up 13.3 per cent year-on-year.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said Schumacher has ‘made genuine progress with the business’ since he took over, adding: ‘This has been built on improved product innovation but also slowing down price increases.’

Chris Beckett, head of equity research at Quilter Cheviot, said Unilever had ‘continued its good run of results’, adding: ‘The momentum generated in recent months is here to stay as the business transforms itself. Unilever remains on the road to recovery.’

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

Saxo

Saxo

Get £200 back in trading fees

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free dealing and no account fee

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investing account for you