The boss of Unilever has said its performance remains “disappointing” as it posted an underwhelming trading update.
This morning, the Dove Soap and Ben & Jerry’s maker said turnover reached €59.6bn (£50bn) down 0.8 per cent on last year.
Underlying profit reached €9.9bn (£8.4bn) during the period, up only 2.6 per cent on last year.
The firm warned that less than four in ten of its brands were currently claiming market share.
Speaking today, chief Hein Schumacher, who stepped into the role last July, said the consumer giant’s competitiveness “remains disappointing” and “overall performance” needs to improve.
He said: We are working to address this by improving our execution to unlock Unilever’s full potential.
“In October, we set out a Growth Action Plan focused on three priorities: delivering higher-quality growth, stepping up productivity and simplicity, and adopting a strong performance focus.”
He explained: “We are at the early stages of this work and there is much to do but we are moving with speed and urgency to transform Unilever into a consistently higher performing business.”
Half of the exec team has changed since October. Today the firm’s long-time people boss, Nitin Paranjpe, announced their retirement. They will be replaced by Mairead Nayager, moving over from Haleon.
Late last year, Unilever revealed it was launching an “action plan” to drive growth, involving focusing on its 30 most profitable brands.
Shares in consumer giant Unilever were down ahead of the company’s latest update, which is already drawing attention from environmental protestors.
The firm is set to be probed by the CMA after it was was accused of Greenwashing.