Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever saw 3% sales growth to bring in EUR39.65bn (US$51.69bn) for the full year 2006, with all categories growing.
Operating margin at the group was 13.6% for 2006, up from 13.2% in 2005. The company said that sales for the fourth quarter were also up 3%, to EUR9.73bn, while the operating margin was 10.9% for the final quarterly period.
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Unilever CEO Patrick Cescau said: “The improved performance in 2006 shows that the wide-ranging changes made to the business over the last two years are working. I am particularly pleased that this improvement is broad-based, with every region and category contributing. The new organisation and the implementation of ‘One Unilever’ are improving Unilever’s operational effectiveness; bringing faster decision making, better local execution and enabling us to allocate resources more effectively across our portfolio.
“The work we have done in setting clear priorities and implementing change has made Unilever a stronger business, able to build on its local strengths and better exploit the power of being global. However, there is much more to be done and there are many exciting opportunities ahead of us.”
In its 2007 outlook Unilever said it expects underlying sales growth in 2007 within its 3-5% longer term target range.
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