Unilever beauty ops make progress in Q3 as it benefits from price rises

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 27, 2022

Unilever’s Q3 trading statement on Thursday revealed “another strong quarter of growth”, with its sales guidance raised. It came as underlying sales growth accelerated to 10.6% and price growth stepped up to 12.5% in the quarter, with volumes declining only 1.6%.

It now expects underlying sales growth for the full year 2022 to be above 8%, although with more negative underlying volume growth than in the first nine months.

Total turnover for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giant in the latest quarter was 17.8% to €15.8 billion as the company saw the benefits of currency exchange effects.

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Within that the Beauty & Well-being division saw underlying sales growth of 6.7% and total sales growth of 24.4% to reach €3.3 billion. And Personal Care was up 8.9% underlying and 20% in total at €3.6 billion.

Looking at those two business units more closely, Beauty & Wellbeing’s 6.7% jump, divided into a 7.3% boost from price and a 0.6% loss on the volume front.

Hair Care grew in high single-digits, driven by Latin America and South Asia, partially offset by modest growth in developed markets and China. 

Sunsilk and Clear performed well with strong contributions from price. Skin Care grew in low single-digits, as strong growth in South-East Asia was offset by declines in Europe and North Asia. 

Vaseline and Pond's delivered good growth, “supported by innovations with additional consumer benefits”. 

Prestige Beauty performed well with strong contributions from Paula's Choice and Living Proof, which entered the bond-building premium hair care category. Hourglass continued its expansion into China through online and premium retail stores. 

And in Personal Care, of the underlying sales rise of 8.9%, a hefty 13.5% was from price while it saw a 4.1% loss of volumes. While the volume decline was lower than in the second quarter, it was affected by strong price increases taken in Skin Cleansing to counter higher costs.

Deodorants continued to perform strongly, with double-digit pricing and positive volume growth. “This was supported by continued premiumisation and strong innovations, such as the 72-hour protection technology from Rexona”. 

Skin Cleansing saw strong double-digit price growth but with a high single-digit volume decline. Lux “grew strongly, still benefiting from the relaunch of its bars in South Asia and the Middle East, which provide a further improved skin care experience”. 

The reformulated Dove deep moisture body wash, with microbiome nutrient serum, continued to perform well across its launch markets.