Consumer goods manufacturing giant Unilever (UL -5.46%) reported mixed fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings on Thursday, Feb. 13. Its underlying earnings per share (EPS) of 2.98 British pounds narrowly exceeded analyst consensus expectations of 2.965 pounds thanks to solid operational efficiency.
Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever, weighs in on the company's latest earnings and its efforts to regain market share from private labels.
Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL ) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call February 13, 2025 3:00 AM ET Company Participants Hein Schumacher - CEO Fernando Fernandez - CFO Jemma Spalton - Head of IR Conference Call Participants Warren Ackerman - Barclays Celine Pannuti - JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jeffrey Stent - BNP Paribas Exane Jean-Olivier Nicolai - Goldman Sachs Group Guillaume Delmas - UBS Jeremy Fialko - HSBC Victor Ma - TD Securities Thomas Sykes - Deutsche Bank Hein Schumacher Good morning and welcome to Unilever's Full Year Results. Thank you for joining us.
Unilever on Thursday moved forward with its plan to separate its ice cream-making division, saying it will be listed on three stock exchanges.
Unilever PLC has also announced a new share buyback of up to €1.5 billion, and said it will spin out its ice cream business with joint listings in Amsterdam, London and New York. The final results "reflect a year of significant activity as we focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently higher performing business", says CEO Hein Schumacher.
Unilever posted a 4% rise in fourth-quarter underlying sales, slightly missing a 4.1% forecast. Over the full-year, underlying sales grew 4.2% versus estimates of 4.3%.
Unilever PLC would be best placed spinning off its ice cream division in both London and New York, according to Barclays analysts. Despite speculation of a float in Amsterdam, joint transatlantic listings would reduce risks of flow-back given Uneilver's UK listing and the fact 70% of investors are based in the two, the bank said in a note.
Ben & Jerry's filed a complaint against its parent company, Unilever, in 2024. At the time, Ben & Jerry's accused Unilever of silencing its views on the war in Gaza.
Ben & Jerry's on Friday ratcheted up its censorship lawsuit against Unilever , accusing its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement the U.S. ice cream maker wanted to release because it mentioned President Donald Trump.
Unilever is a better buy than Procter & Gamble due to its better value for money, forward valuation, and product mix. Both companies face headwinds in emerging markets, but Unilever's issues are simpler to fix, making it less risky. Unilever's lower P/E ratio and higher dividend yield make it more attractively valued compared to Procter & Gamble.
A boycott against Unilever and other multinationals operating in Israel has worsened the global consumer company's loss of market share in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, where it is battling smaller, often cheaper local rivals.
Unilever PLC (LSE:ULVR) shares fell to their lowest since July after analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the Vaseline, Lynx and Cornetto owner "hasn't the wherewithal" to grow sales volumes as much as it wants. The FTSE 100 consumer good group's aim is to grow volumes 2% but analyst James Edwardes Jones said this is unlikely given various factors, including a "lack of market dominance", as it is market leader in only half of its business once it has spun off its ice cream arm.