(Reuters) -Dove soap maker Unilever beat market expectations for second-quarter underlying sales growth on Thursday due to robust demand in North America and Europe, and kept its sales expectations for the full year.
Unilever has made several organisational and operational changes over the past year to address underperformance and boost margins, including the planned spin-off of its ice cream business which makes Ben & Jerry's and Magnum, job cuts and the ouster of former CEO Hein Schumacher in February.
The ice cream business, called The Magnum Ice Cream Company, is on track for a demerger in mid-November, the company said.
"Looking ahead, our priorities are clear: more Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care; disproportionate investment in the U.S. and India; and, a sharper focus on premium segments and digital commerce," CEO Fernando Fernandez said in a statement.
While the company maintained its 2025 sales forecast and highlighted areas of growth, a 50% drop in free cash flow from last year to 1.1 billion euros in the first half raises concerns about the financial strain caused by supply chain changes, tariff uncertainties, and costs associated with spinning off its ice cream division.
The owner of brands such as Vaseline and Liquid I.V. electrolytes said the second half is expected to grow ahead of the first, with resilience in the North American and European markets and with India, China and Indonesia expected to improve.
Unilever has previously said that the impact of U.S. tariffs was expected to be limited and manageable.
The consumer goods company reported underlying sales growth of 3.8% for the three months ended June 30, compared with 3.6% expected by analysts in a company-compiled poll.
It reported an underlying operating profit of 5.8 billion euros for the half-year, slightly ahead of market expectations of 5.7 billion euros.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Bernadette Baum)
