7/31/2025

speaker
Fernando
Chief Executive Officer

Good morning and welcome to Unilever's second quarter trading statement for 2025. Thank you for joining us. I am joined today by Shini Patak, our Acting Chief Financial Officer. In a moment, Shini will take you through the detail of the second quarter and first half results. I will then come back to talk more broadly about the continuing transformation of the business and how we see the remainder of this year and beyond. First of all, let me set out what what I see to be the key elements of our solid performance in the first half, and importantly, why these give us real confidence when it comes to delivering the full year. There are five elements in particular that I would like to highlight. First, the balance of our growth. We deliver underlying sales growth for the half of 3.4%. and we did it with a good balance of volume and price. Volumes improved sequentially over the course of the half, despite subdued markets, with first-half market volume growth at around 1.3%. Importantly, volume growth was broad-based and positive across all business groups. Second, the continued structural strengthening of our gross margin that allowed furthering increase in the support of our brands. We plan to market the investment highly competitive in the first half at 15.5% of turnover. Third, we continue to outperform markets in the developed economies. In North America, we deliver underlying growth for the half of 5.4%, with volumes up 3.7%, while Europe remains strong, up 3.4% for the half. Fourth, at the same time as outperforming in developed markets, we are also seeing a steadily improving picture when it comes to performance in emerging markets. This has been driven by our largest region, Asia-Pacific Africa, which was up 3.5% in the first half and accelerated to over 5% growth in the second quarter. India, our second largest market, improved sequentially during the half. and as a direct consequence of the operational interventions made, we see improvements in both China and Indonesia, and confidently expect both markets to accelerate further in the second half of the year. Volume performance in Latin America was poor in the second quarter, with the slowing markets and the need to increase prices to cover currency depreciation. But we are confident in the strength of our portfolio and operations in the region, and we expect recovery later in the year. And fifth, we expect non-competitive performance, but also in terms of getting the business ready for the merger later in the year. Gini will cover the final stages towards the merger a little later. Our first half results with a sustained, strong developed market performance and emerging markets starting to improve give us real grounds for confidence for the second half of the year and beyond. With that, let me hand over to Srini to tell you through the detail of the results. Srini.

speaker
Shini Patak
Acting Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Fernando. Underlying sales growth in the second quarter was 3.8%, a sequential improvement across volume and price, with volume growth contributing 1.8%, a 50 basis point step up versus quarter one, and price growth of 2%. As a result, underlying sales growth for the first half was 3.4, with volumes of 1.5 and price 1.9. Price growth continued to step up as we responded to ongoing input cost inflation and currency movements. We delivered our multi-year objective of volumes of at least 2%. percent our power brands which contribute over 75 percent of the group turnover grew 3.8 percent in the first half including 1.6 from volume growth in of two percent strong performances included Double digit growth from Vaseline, Liquid IV, Nutrafol and Magnum and high single digit growth from Dove and Comfort. Before turning to the business groups, let me first provide some color on our performance across different geographies. Developed market continued to perform strongly with first half USG of 4.3% driven by 3.4 volume and 0.9 price. We have now delivered four consecutive quarters of growth of above 4% in developed markets. North America underlying sales grew 5.4% with 3.7% from water. For multi-year portfolio transformation, with standout performances from our well-being brands and personal care, which is back to competitive growth. Share gains across key categories were supported by premium innovations, such as the ongoing success of sugar and Hellmann's-flavored mayonnaise, and underpinned by a continued step-up to brand investment. Europe grew underlying sales by 3.4%, with 2.8% from volume. Growth was broad-based across markets, and we are winning share across the geography, including in the U.S. Hellmann's was driven by home care, where the rollout of Wonder Wash and SIF Infinite Clean showcase the strength of our multi-year premium innovation strategy. And by ice cream, we saw standout results from the new Magnum Utopia range. Personal care delivered solid results with a successful launch of whole body deodorants. 3% group turnover delivered underlying first half sales growth of 3.5% with 1.9% from volume and 1.6% from price. Growth strengthened in the second quarter reflecting a step up in performance across key markets. India performed well with 5% growth in a gradually improving market. Growth was led by our premium portfolio in beauty and well-being and personal care, while home care continued to deliver strong volume growth. In Indonesia, which declined by around 5% and China, we saw a low single digit decline, we are seeing improvements to run rates as a result of our significant intervention in our key brand innovation plans in channel distribution and in pricing execution. We expect further acceleration in Asia Pacific. Latin America, which represent 13% of the group turnover, grew 0.5% with a 4.6% decline in volume. There are three important points to note here. First, pricing actions to offset currency movements weighed on volumes, while Argentina delivered growth and Mexico. Market growth across the region remained subdued significantly below the prior year levels, reflecting a challenging macroeconomic environment. We are also lapping a high base as Latin America delivered high single-digit growth However, it is important to highlight that our growth in Latin America remains competitive with continued share gains across the region. Let me now turn to our business groups. Beauty and well-being underlying sales growth was 3.7 in the first half. Volume growth remains resilient with a two-year CAGR of 3.2%. Sustained strong momentum in our well-being business led the growth. Core skincare delivered low single-digit growth and hair care and prestige beauty were flat. Beauty and well-being volumes were also impacted by our ongoing corrective actions in Indonesia and China. We remained confident in delivering sequential volume improvements in the second half. Well-being has now dead waters. Power Brands Liquid IV and Nutrafol continue to deliver exceptional performances fueled by a strong pipeline of innovations, high levels of brand investment, and expansion of their global presence. Haircare was a significant relaunch featuring cutting-edge fiber repair technology and a complete packaging redesign. This was partially offset by a decline in clear, which was impacted by market conditions in China, and by a volume decline in Tresemme, where pricing actions are being implemented to restore desired price relativity. Cold skincare delivered low single-digit growth. Dove and Vaseline grew double-digit, led by premium innovations and strong modern reach and persuasion programs, such as Vaseline's social-first verified campaign, where our scientists test The most premium brands, Hourglass and Kala Cosmetics, Tatcha, a luxury Japanese skincare brand, and K18, a biotech hair care brand, continue to grow double-digit. While the continued softness in the U.S. market weighed on the performance of brands like Thermologica and Polastro. 4% down 60 basis points versus the prior year as we increased our brand and marketing investment behind key innovations and market development. Personal care delivered a good first half with 4.8% underlying sales growth driven by 1.4 volume and 3.3 price. Our two-year volume CAGR was 2.3% despite a softening of volumes in the second quarter, which reflected subdued macro conditions in Latin America and recent pricing actions to offset currency movements. Dove, our largest brand, grew high single-digit. Deodorants grew low single-digit. Dove and Dove Men Plus Care grew double-digit, supported by the continued success of whole-body deodorants, while Rexona was impacted by a weaker Latin America market, despite skin cleansing grew low single-digit, with strong contributions from North America and India offsetting declines in Indonesia and China. Dove led our growth with a further rollout of its premium body wash, including new variants and new markets. The relaunch of Lipo in India has slowed its decline, though further work is required to be done to return the brand to growth. Oral Care delivered mid-single-digit growth. with growth in both CloseUp and Pepsodent, our two power brands, and the margin was 22.1%, down 90 basis points, as gross margin improvement was offset by a step-up in brand investment focused on the U.S. and in the premium segments. In the first half of the year, we announced a further strengthening of our personal care portfolio through Pulton's available deodorant brand, And we signed an agreement to acquire Dr. Squatch, a high-performing male grooming brand with a loyal following and a standout digital engagement, particularly in North America. Both brands are highly complimentary in the general space and in the super premium segments. Home care underlying sales grew 1.3% with 1.1% from volume and 0.2% from price. Underlying sales growth stepped up to 1.8% in Q2, driven by a sequential improvement in Asia and continued momentum of our premium innovation plan in Latin America. Fabric cleaning declined low single digit, with modest decreases in both volume and price. Performance was impacted by a high single digit decline in Brazil, home care's second largest market, where we suffered some competitive pressures in the laundry powders following pricing action. The situation continues to drive momentum. Our short cycle wonder wash laundry liquid continues to perform strongly and has now been rolled out to 22 markets and recently launched two new variants, sensitive and dazzling white. Home and hygiene performed well with SIF and Domestos both delivering strong growth Driven by continuous growth, fabric enhancers grew high single-digit, supported by the success of Comfort crystal-fresh technology, which contributed to the brand's high single-digit volume growth. Underlying operating margin was 15.5% at decline of 80 basis points due to a lower gross margin as we lapped a particularly steep growth. Foods delivered competitive sales of 2.2% with 0.3% from volume and 1.9% from price. in the second quarter led by continued momentum in Hellman's where the flavored mayonnaise ranges remain a key growth driver. Cooking aids grew low single digit driven by price. Volumes turned positive in the second quarter led by the largest brand Knorr which continues to lead in bouillon and seasonings. Unilever food solutions was flat with positive volume offset by negative price. Growth in North America was sparse China, out-of-home eating showed some improvement in the second quarter, but the overall market remained soft. Underlying operating margins improved by 100 basis points to 23.3%, reflecting disciplined execution of pricing, mix management, and productivity. Ice cream underlying sales grew 5.9%, driven by a 3.0% increase over the last 18 months to enhance our innovations of pricing and promotions and our operations. Both in-home and out-of-home ice cream segments grew mid- to single digits, with positive contributions from both volume and price. Double-digit growth in Magnum led to performance, supported by the successful launch of its Utopia range and the continued momentum of snacking format Bon Bons. Cornetto also performed well, growing high single digits. Underlying operating margin declined by 40 basis points due to a gross margin decline. However, our operational improvements and pricing have offset most of the continued cost inflation of key commodities, particularly cocoa. Over the past 18 months, we have been laying the company. The complex process of separation has progressed well, and today we are pleased to confirm that. As of the 1st of July, ice cream began operating as a standalone business. The demerger of the ice cream will take place in mid-November. Ahead of the demerger, on the 9th of September in London, the Magnum Ice Cream Company will be holding a capital market sale presenting the strategy and the value creation plan for the business. In October, shareholders can expect to receive Unilever Circular which will set out further information on the demerger. exciting future as a pure play global ice cream business and which brings me to the next steps by Unilever. We are announcing today our intention to retain a stake of just below 20% in the Magnum ice cream company for a period of up to five years subject to necessary regulatory approval. Over time, the retained stake will be sold in an orderly and considered manner to pay for the separation costs and maintain capital flexibility through a reduction in net debt. The retained stake demonstrates our support and belief in the future of the Magnum Ice Cream Company. As a part of the demerger process, we will be allocating debt between Unilever and the Magnum Ice Cream Company. This is expected to result in a net debt to EBITDA ratio of approximately 2x for Unilever and 2x for the Magnum Ice Cream Company. Subject to shareholder approval, Unilever intends to consolidate its share capital post the demerger of the ice cream company. This would be a technical adjustment and in line with market factors following similar situations to preserve the comparability of our share price to the demerger. We will share further details in early October. Let me now return to Unilever's performance at the group level. Turnover of the first half was 30.1 billion down 3.2 percent year on year underlying sales growth of 3.4 percent was more than offset currencies remain where they were on 28th of july the currency impact on full year turnover would be between five and six percent and around 20 basis points on underlying operating margin while several currencies contribute to this outlook it is worth noting that in quarter two the currency impact euro-dollar dynamic to remain the largest contributor in the second half. We will continue to update you on this as the year unfolds. Portfolio changes also reduced reported turnover with an impact of 2.5% from net disposals. Acquisitions contributed 0.2% led by strong double-digit growth from K18 and the addition of Wild. This was more than offset by a 2.7% impact from disposals, including the sale of Alida Beauty completed in June 2024 and the exits of Unilever Russia and a water purification business both completed in October 2024. In first half of 2025, we faced inflationary pressures from both commodities and currency, most notably in ice cream, where we experienced deflation and we benefited from carryover pricing. As indicated earlier, we have implemented calibrated price increases across our portfolio in response. Our continued margin progression reflects the impact of several levers. Volume leverage as we scale efficiently across categories. Superior mix driven by brand, portfolio, and channel optimization. Significant buying efficiencies unlocked through our advanced net productivity models and targeted value chain interventions across the supply chain. Cost to serve optimization underpinned by disciplined cost control and consistent execution across our supply chain and commercial operations. It's margin accretive initiatives and we are seeing the benefits in both production and logistics costs. Dispositions as well for continued margin resilience and supports our ambition to deliver quality growth over the medium term. Underlying operating margins was 19.3% down 30 basis points, reflecting a step up in brand and marketing investments. We have leveraged our strong gross margins and productivity gains to reinvest behind our brands. Brand and marketing investment increased by 40 basis points to 15.5% to competitive brand and innovation support. Notably, 100% of the incremental BMI as a percentage of turnover was directed towards our power brands, with over 80% of that increase focused on beauty and personal care. and tighter cost control, more than offset inflationary pressures, and the costs associated with setting up and running ice cream as a standalone business. Our productivity program is significantly ahead of expectations, and we now expect to realize approximately This is $100 million above the guidance we shared with our quarter one results. Underlying operating profit was 5.8 billion, a decline of 4.8% versus the prior year. Underlying earnings per share was 0.1% reduced cost of debt and increased pension income. Net finance cost as a percentage of average net debt was 2.5% and we continue to expect this to be around 3% for the full year. Tax contributed 1.4%. The underlying effective tax rate for the first half decreased to 25.2% from 26% in the prior year. This was primarily due to lower unrecognized losses and other one-off items. Our full year guidance remains unchanged at around 26%. We completed our latest round of share buyback of €1.5 billion at the end of May. Share buybacks contributed 1.5% to the earnings in the first half. Lower tax and finance costs and the benefit of share buyback was impact from currency movement. Free cash flow for the first half of 2025 was €1.1 billion compared to €2.2 billion in the prior year due to lower operating profit, ice cream separation costs and higher working capital to support supply chain resilience during the period of tariffs uncertainty. Capital expenditure and income tax remained broadly flat. We are confident in our full-year free cash flow delivery and continue to expect free cash flow conversion of around 100%. With more certainty about tariffs, the increases in the stock holdings will continue to pursue targeted acquisitions to sharpen our portfolio focus and capture growth opportunities in attractive segments. In April, we completed the acquisition of Minimalist, a premium actives-led beauty brand that supports the evolution of our beauty and well-being portfolio in India. As mentioned, and signed an agreement in June to acquire Dr. Squatch, both align with our strategy to strengthen our presence in high-growth premium segments and channels. In March, we also announced the sale of non-strategic asset, the vegetarian butcher, reflecting our focus on businesses with potential to be scaled. and finalized both through dividends and share buybacks. The quarterly dividend for second quarter is up 3% versus Q2 2024 and in line with Q1 2025 dividend. And as I mentioned earlier, we've completed our 1.5 billion share buyback program announced in February at the end of May. With that, over to you, Fernando.

speaker
Fernando
Chief Executive Officer

Thank you, Srini. As I said at the outset, this result put us on track to deliver our full year outlook for 2025 on both the top and bottom line, within the range of 3% to 5%. Our growth in the second half will outpace the first, despite subdued market conditions, supported by continued outperformance in developed markets and already a stronger momentum in emerging markets, particularly in Asia. On the bottom line, we anticipate... an improvement in underlying operating margin for the full year, with second-half margins of at least 18.5%. A significant improvement versus the second half of 2024, which can be explained by volume growth leverage, higher productivity, and better materials. Of course, we remain agile as we expect that the macro and currency environment will remain uncertain. However, we are confident in the outlook we are sharing today. First, because our performance in the developed markets is built on increasingly strong foundations and is being sustained by an executive quota of underlying sales growth in excess of 4%. This means our performance is not happening by chance. It is a direct consequence of the focus in our power brands and the investments we have made. In North America, for example, we have seen the transformation of the portfolio, with beauty and well-being, and personal care, representing more than 75% of our U.S. business after the demersion of iSkin. The pruning of non-strategic brands or brands in the value segment of our portfolio has supported our growing presence in premium, high-growth spaces, with a strong vision for the benefits of our increased focus, with our performance laid by premium innovations, from Persil Wonder Wash to SIF Infinite Clean to whole-body deodorants. Second, at the same time as we have momentum in the developed markets, we see clear signs of pick-up in the emerging markets of Pacific Africa. The actions we have taken in both China and Indonesia are yielding improvements, which we expect to accelerate further in the second half. And momentum is building in India, where we have recently appointed a new head of the business, Riyan Air, who takes over on 1st of August. After having successfully led our global beauty and well-being business, Priya combines a deep understanding of our home and personal care business in India that she successfully ran for many years with the knowledge of our portfolio in tune with the significant consumer needs and channel shifts already visible in the market. Weakening economic conditions are impacting our business in Latin America and in particular in our two biggest markets, Brazil. Brazil and Mexico. While conditions will remain challenging, taking overall, however, the momentum in the developed markets and the improvement we are seeing in the emerging markets give us confidence that growth will accelerate in the second half of the year. This acceleration is part of the work we are doing for 2025, but also to set the foundations as we look for of the two overriding objectives. Namely, that we run the company for multi-year volume growth of at least 2%, and to consistently expand our growth margin. The delivery of these two objectives is a mindset growth and modest margin improvement that we believe will provide top-sec returns to our shareholders. And as we pursue these metrics, we will do so as a simpler model. More focused company. One with. Post the merger with Ice Cream. Unilever will be. A 52 billion euros business. With a structured. Higher margin profile. Improved returns. And strong cash generation. On 2024 financial. Our gross margin will be 46.7%. up 160 basis points, underlying operating margins of 19.4%, up 100 basis points, and return on invested capital 19.1%, up 100 basis points, with cash conversion of around 100%. In half-month 2025, Unilever, excluding ice cream, sustained this growth momentum with a two-year compound annual volume growth of over 2%, 3%. shifts that we are making position us very well to deliver consistent, high-quality growth with greater agility and sharper execution. Let me now share a bit about the transformation journey I am leading to turn Unilever into a consistently high-performing business. It is a transformation founded on a six-part portfolio towards beauty and well-being and personal care. And in that context, you heard Shini talk about the recent acquisitions of Minimalist, Wild and Dr. Squash. Second, we are increasingly set up for success in our two biggest markets, the United States and India. We will invest in these markets, delivering above group average volume growth. Third, we are shifting. resources decisively in the direction of premium science-based innovation, responding to the consumers' increasingly insatiable desire for brands that are premium, whether in the experience they provide, the indulgence they grant, or the convenience they offer. Fourth, the concept of desire at scale is so core now to the way we think about elevating our brands and innovations, to the service of making new markets, new segments, new benefits, new formats. Fifth, we are bringing operational excellence back to the heart of the business in our determination to make Unilever a marketing and sales machine, both online and offline. And sixth, under this transformation, we will play to win because winning is habit forming. We will invest in the development of our people to help compromising when it comes to appointing the best talent and ensuring accountability for performance. These are the principles that are guiding our transformation and the benefits are already evident in our first half performance. We look forward to sharing. Let me just set out briefly, today, how many of these principles come together in the features and performance of one particular brand, Vaseline, as it really does encapsulate how we see the future. No brand is more emblematic of our core than Vaseline, after all. Yet in recent years it has been on a remarkable journey, pioneering the kind of desire at scale thing thinking we want now to replicate across all our brands. And you see the results of this journey on the screen here. 11% compounded annual growth rate over the last four years. Growing volumes over 10%, both in 2024 and in the first half of 2025. Its biggest market, the U.S. Its biggest expansion plan, India. Global power brand. His journey has been highly instructive when we talk about desire at scale. First, he has put breakthrough science at the heart of his proposition, as for example with the use of cutting-edge serum technologies, an invisible sun protection factor in products like Lutahaya. Second, the aesthetics of the brand have been significantly improved from the packaging to the product formats to advertising, everything screams premium. and it scores equally high on another dimension that today's increasingly discerning consumers regard as key, sensorials, which are evident in the brand's light, instantly absorbable lotions. From a tired and fragmented design platform a few years back, the brand now has a cohesion across all platforms. And we are also using a modern approach to scale the brand with more focus on content at scale in what others say and in influencers. Whether it is the Vaseline verified social first hacks campaign, which won recently nine awards at Cannes, or culturally relevant IAPs such as with the hit series The White Lotus, Vaseline is leading the way when it comes to new models of reach and persuasion. More on this to come as we steadily bring desire at scale to every brand in every geography. But from what I have seen, our objectives are to deliver multi-year volume growth of at least 2% and consistent gross margin expansion. Our financial profile post-emergence is well placed to support this ambition, with improvements anticipated in profitability and returns. With that, let me briefly recap. Moreover, we are confident that growth will accelerate in the second half. The building blocks are in place to ensure this happens. As a result, we are on track for our full year outlook for 2025. We are confirming today that the demerger of ice cream will take place in the middle of November, as well as our intention to retain a stake of just below 20% in the business. And finally, the transformation of Unleaver is not just on track, it is accelerating. We are very clear on the desired at-scale principles that underpin this journey, and we are equally clear on what we must deliver, sustained volume growth and consistent gross margin expansion. The next phase is about execution in the front line, sharpening our focus on becoming a true marketing and sales machine. And with that, we look forward to taking your

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