Unilever raised its full-year outlook after underlying sales growth reached 4.8% in the first half, accelerating to 5.8% in the second quarter on 5.5% volume growth.
The maker of Dove, Vaseline and Sunsilk now expects full-year underlying sales growth within its 4% to 6% multi-year guidance range, with around 3% underlying volume growth, and a modest improvement in operating margin above the 20.0% recorded in 2025.
Chief executive Fernando Fernandez called it "the best volume quarter at Unilever in over a decade," pointing to strong momentum in India, Indonesia and Latin America alongside continued outperformance in North America.
Power Brands, which make up 78% of turnover, delivered 6.0% underlying sales growth and 5.4% volume growth, ahead of the group average.
Turnover rose 0.5% to €25.6 billion, as operational gains and net acquisitions offset a 4.9% currency headwind.
Underlying operating margin edged up 10 basis points to 20.3%, helped by a €800 million productivity programme completed ahead of schedule, though gross margin slipped 70 basis points to 46.8% on commodity inflation and World Cup-related promotional spending.
The separation of Unilever's Foods business into a combination with McCormick remains on track, with completion expected by mid-2027 at the latest.
McCormick announced its planned operating model, executive team and a secondary London listing for the combined company on 23 July.
Unilever also completed a €1.5 billion share buyback in June and lifted its quarterly dividend 3% to €0.4664.
Third-quarter trading is due 28 October.
