Unilever''s sales grow higher than expected in 1Q

London-Unilever unveiled an unexpected acceleration of quarterly sales, reinforcing the argument that can improve performance alone, after refusing an offer to buy Kraft''s Heinz, to 143 billion dollars in February.
The manufacturer of products such as Knorr soups and the Dove soap, which earlier this month announced a renewal of your business in response to the interest of acquisition, said that the improvement of economies and rising commodity costs helped lift prices in the first quarter. That made up for a slight decline in the volume of goods sold.
Underlying the company''s sales grow 2,9% in the first quarter, surpassing analysts '' expectations of 2% expansion and high of acute 2,2% in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The advance was led by emerging markets, with the prices contributing positively to 3%, and the fall in volumes having a negative impact of 0,1%.
The company''s Vice President for finance, Graeme Pitkethly, said there''s always a lag between the economic improvement and an increase in expenses of families, and so Unilever expects a better performance in the second half, helped also by your comparisons easier over the previous year.
"We are seeing positive signs in the global economy," he told Reuters, speaking about the depreciation of currencies in places such as India, Indonesia and Brazil have reached rock bottom.
The Unilever foods Division was the weakest, with stable performance, while the segment of ice cream and tea was discharged from 5,4% and products for the home and personal rose 3,4%.
Excluding the margarine business and the like, which is to be sold, the underlying group Unilever sales would have increased 3,4%.