Unilever beats third-quarter underlying sales estimate

Unilever achieved slightly better than expected underlying quarterly sales after winning back more shoppers with product innovations and slower price increases, posting its biggest gain in sales volumes in three-and a-half-years.

The consumer goods giant said on Thursday it was keeping its full-year outlook for 3-5 percent underlying sales growth and an underlying operating margin of at least 18 percent.

The maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's condiments reported a 4.5 percent rise in third-quarter underlying sales, beating analysts' average forecast of a 4.2 percent increase, according to a company-provided consensus.

Underlying price growth for the quarter was 0.9 percent while underlying volume sales growth was 3.5 percent, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2021 when Unilever reported a 4.7 percent rise in volumes. Analysts had expected a 1 percent increase in prices and a 3.2 percent rise in volumes for the third quarter.

"We have delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of positive, improved volume growth, with each of our business groups driving higher volumes year-on-year," CEO Hein Schumacher said in a statement.