Unilever has posted a sales boost for Q3 2024 following a lacklustre second quarter.
Sales grew by 4.5%, led by increased volume sales and the consumer giant’s ‘power brands’ including Dove, Rexona and Sunsilk.
Turnover also rose by 2.8% to €15.2bn, with Beauty & Wellbeing up 6.7% and Personal Care growing 4.4%.
This was driven by Skin Care and Dove, which benefited from the launch of its High Potency Body Serums and 3-in-1 face care treatments in Brazil.
TRESemmé’s expanded treatments and styling range also boosted the business’ Hair Care division.
“We are starting to see the positive impact from scaling fewer, bigger innovations across our markets supported by increased brand investment,” said Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher.
“We are taking decisive actions, where we see operational or market challenges to ensure we are well-positioned for consistent and improved performance.”
The strong beauty performance helped to offset softer growth in Unilever’s Prestige division, caused by a slowdown in the US and China beauty markets.
South East Asia also lagged during the quarter due to an 18% sales decline in Indonesia, which was partially offset by volume-led growth in the Philippines and Thailand.
The business said it is making “decisive interventions” to fix long-standing issues in Indonesia, which includes removing price instability and resetting stock levels.
Schumacher said this is not a “quick fix”, and the company does “not expect to see the benefits until well into next year”.
“We are addressing the issues in Indonesia head-on, taking significant and comprehensive measures,” added Schumacher.
“We expect to benefit from the changes we are making in the second half of 2025 and onwards.”
The Q3 results follow Unilever completing the sale of its Russia division to Arnest Group, a Russian manufacturer of personal care and household goods.
The company’s four production clusters in Russia are located in St Petersburg, Tula, Omsk and Yekaterinburg.
Last August, Schumacher pledged to reexamine the Dove owner’s Russia presence following criticism over its operations in the country throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Unilever was named an ‘international sponsor of war’ in 2023 by the Ukrainian government.
