Business Services Industry
Top Brands Pave Way for Surge by Unilever.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, October, 2002
Daily Mail, London Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 31--Food and soap giant Unilever is gaining momentum from its patient strategy of putting heavy firepower behind top brands such as Dove soap, Knorr soup and Hellman's mayonnaise.
Leading brands rose 5.4 percent in the quarter to September and net profits soared 68 percent. The pretax surplus rose 33 percent to UKpound 847 million, with the nine-month total up 19 percent to UKpound 2.3 billion.
After its mammoth Bestfoods takeover, Unilever speeded up pruning its sprawling brand portfolio. Nine-month sales actually fell 1 percent, but profit margins climbed from 13.7 percent to 15.3 percent.
Co-chairman Niall FitzGerald says the figures vindicate the "path to growth"...
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