Unilever (LSE:ULVR) raised its full-year guidance on Wednesday, telling investors it now expects underlying volume growth of at least 3% for 2026 after a third quarter that saw underlying sales growth accelerate to 5.2%.
The London and Amsterdam-listed consumer goods group, whose brands include Dove and Ben & Jerry's, said the upgrade reflects "another quarter of competitive growth" built on volume gains and a step-up in pricing to offset higher commodity costs.
Turnover rose 6.7% to €13.3 billion in the quarter, combining the 5.2% underlying sales growth with a 0.8% net contribution from acquisitions and disposals and a 0.6% currency boost.
Volume grew 2.9% and price contributed 2.3%, with the pricing acceleration concentrated in Home Care and Personal Care as the company passed through higher input costs.
Home & Personal Care led the quarter, up 7.0% on an underlying basis with 4.1% volume growth, while Home Care itself delivered 9.1% underlying sales growth and 5.4% volume growth, driven by double-digit gains in India and Brazil.
Foods was flat at 0.1% underlying sales growth, as growth in emerging markets and Unilever Food Solutions was offset by weaker developed-market retail and intensifying competition in US condiments.
Emerging markets grew 9.5% on an underlying basis, with India up 15% and double-digit growth also recorded in Turkey, Vietnam and Pakistan; developed markets declined 0.9%, with North America down 0.7% despite continued volume share gains and Europe down 1.7% in a soft market.
Power Brands, the group's priority portfolio, delivered 5.8% underlying sales growth and 3.3% volume growth, continuing to outpace the wider group.
"This progress gives us confidence that we will now deliver at least 3% volume growth for the full year," said chief executive Fernando Fernandez, adding that Unilever is "becoming simpler and sharper" as it drives what he called "Desire at Scale" across its brands.
The company now expects second-half underlying sales growth of around 5%, and continues to guide to full-year underlying sales growth within its multi-year range of 4% to 6%, alongside a modest improvement in underlying operating margin versus the 20.0% reported in 2025.
Read more about Unilever
- 12/07/26Analyst eyes hydration headwinds at Unilever, so sticks with a Hold rating
- 30/04/26Unilever posts Q1 underlying sales growth and confirms full-year outlook
- 26/03/26Unilever receives buyers interest for its food brands
Unilever declared a third-quarter dividend of €0.4664 per share, up 3% on the same quarter last year and unchanged from the second quarter.
The planned combination of Unilever's Foods business with McCormick, announced in March and targeted for completion by mid-2027, remains on track, with the company citing strong progress on regulatory filings and separation work led by more than 200 employees across 20 project teams.
Unilever also completed the sale of its Home Care business in Colombia during the quarter, its only disposal in the period, having undertaken no bolt-on acquisitions.
The company will host an Investor Event in New York on 4 November, ahead of full-year results scheduled for 11 February 2027.