Staff Writer
Unilever, a major British consumer goods company, reported on Tuesday that a sale of assets and higher pricing contributed to a more than a fifth increase in net profit in the first half.
In the six months leading up to the end of June, profit after tax increased by 22% to 3.54 billion euros ($3.9 billion), compared to the same period last year, according to a statement from the company that makes items like Dove soap, Cif surface cleaner, and Magnum ice cream.
Adding that it had passed on greater expenses to customers in the shape of substantial price rises for items, Unilever stated that it had made 497 million euros from the sale of personal-care company Suave in North America.
As inflation stays stubbornly high, businesses and people around the world continue to struggle with increased prices, especially at the UK.
Unilever stated on Tuesday that its sales rose 2.7% to 30.4 billion euros in the first half of the year.
“Unilever’s performance in the first half highlights the qualities that attracted me to the business: an unmatched global footprint, a portfolio of great brands, and a team of talented people,” said the company’s new CEO Hein Schumacher.
This month, Alan Jope was succeeded by the previous CEO of the Dutch dairy and nutrition company Royal FrieslandCampina.
Jope, who was born in Scotland, left after under intense pressure from activist investors.
He supervised Unilever’s unsuccessful $50 billion offer to acquire GlaxoSmithKline’s former healthcare division last year.
