LONDON — Dove and Vaseline helped to boost Unilever sales to 12.6 billion euros in the first quarter as the consumer giant shifts to become a beauty, wellness and home products powerhouse.
First-quarter sales were down 3.3 percent at reported rates due chiefly to currency headwinds, while underlying growth was 3.8 percent in the three months to March 31.
The company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange closed up nearly 2 percent at 42.97 pounds on Thursday.
Unilever said the growth came from volume, with “power brands” leading the performance. Those Unilever power brands, which include Dove, Vaseline and Liquid I.V., are the group’s workhorses, and each has an annual turnover of at least 1 billion euros.
“We have started the year well with volume-led growth driven by our power brands and a positive performance across all business groups,” said Fernando Fernandez, Unilever’s chief executive officer.
Fernandez added there was a “broad-based momentum” across the emerging markets business, with a strong performance in India, and a good recovery in Latin America “following the decisive actions” that Unilever took in the region.
Unilever has purchased the greens supplement company Grüns for an undisclosed price.
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He added that Unilever continues to move “at speed to build a simpler, sharper company, with a structurally higher growth profile and a brand portfolio fit for the future.” He said the foods business merger with McCormick & Co. would help Unilever become a pureplay home and personal care company.
Despite heightened macroeconomic uncertainty, Fernandez said the progress Unilever is making to elevate its brands and improve operational execution “means we remain confident of delivering on our guidance for the year ahead.”
The full-year 2026 outlook remains unchanged, with underlying sales growth to be at the “bottom end” of the company’s multiyear guidance range of 4 percent to 6 percent, with at least 2 percent underlying volume growth. The company said it anticipates a “modest improvement” in underlying operating margin for the full year versus 20 percent in 2025.
Underlying sales growth in the first three months was fueled by volume growth of 2.9 percent and price growth of 0.9 percent. Unilever said the strong volume growth was led by power brands, which grew underlying sales by 5 percent with 4 percent volume growth.
All business groups delivered volume growth, with strong volumes in home care driven by an acceleration in key emerging markets.
The beauty and well-being division posted 3.6 percent underlying sales growth driven by “continued strength in Dove and Vaseline, good momentum in the prestige brands,” and a return to volume growth in Sunsilk. The company said well-being declined low-single digit “against a very strong comparator in the first quarter.”
As reported, Unilever has been slimming down and focusing on beauty and wellness.
Earlier this year, it announced the merger of its foods business with McCormick in the U.S., and last year it turned its ice cream business into a stand-alone, publicly listed entity called The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
This month, Unilever agreed to purchase wellness brand Grüns, which sells gummy supplements filled with fruits, vegetables and prebiotic fiber, for an estimated $1.2 billion.
