Unilever turnover growth slows due to "geopolitical uncertainty"

A global consumer goods company has announced that its turnover growth slowed over the last year.

Unilever, which is based in London and owns brands across the beauty and personal care, food and home care sectors, reported that it generated turnover of £52bn in 2019, and a net profit of £6bn.

This is a 2 per cent increase from 2018 - representing a slowed turnover compared to last year’s 5.1 per cent growth.

It also reported that it completed nine business acquisition deals during the year, as well as the sale of Alsa baking and dessert business in the first half of the year.

Alan Jope, Unilever CEO, commented: “There’s no doubt that conditions are challenging right now. Sluggish economies and a high degree of geopolitical uncertainty are inevitably impacting consumer confidence and spending, which in turn is intensifying competition in the retail sector.

“However, Unilever has now been around for 90 years and so we are very accustomed to operating through downturns and periods of uncertainty like this, and indeed emerging stronger. Moreover, all our competitors – big and small – face the same challenges.

“The key in this environment is to remain relevant to the consumers you serve. For us, that comes down to two things.

“First, earning trust by operating a responsible, multi-stakeholder business model. And second, harnessing advances in science and technology – and especially digital – in ways that allow us to reach and delight consumers in new and ever more inventive ways. We are firmly focused on both.

“The recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) is clearly concerning and we are monitoring developments very closely. The safety and wellbeing of our people has been the overriding priority.

“We are also doing all we can to ensure business continuity and our teams are working tirelessly to help mitigate the risks. Inevitably, however, there will be an adverse impact on the business although the extent is not yet clear.”