UNA Unilever PLC

By Joe Hoppe

Unilever PLC reported Thursday an increase in net profit for 2022, beating market expectations for the year, while fourth quarter turnover rose.

The Anglo-Dutch retailer--which owns consumer brands such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap--posted a net profit of 7.64 billion euros ($8.18 billion) for the year compared with EUR6.05 billion for 2021 and a consensus of EUR6.48 billion, taken from FactSet and based on 18 analysts' estimates.

Adjusted operating profit--one of the company's preferred metrics, which strips out exceptional and other one-off items--was EUR9.68 billion compared with EUR9.64 billion in 2021 and a company-compiled consensus of EUR9.65 billion.

Turnover rose to EUR60.07 billion from EUR52.44 billion for the year-earlier period. Turnover was expected to rise to EUR59.85 billion for 2022, according to the company-compiled consensus. For the fourth quarter, turnover rose 11.4% to EUR14.61 billion compared to a consensus of EUR14.39 billion.

Underlying sales growth for the full year accelerated to 9.0%, driven by price action in response to high input cost inflation and across all business groups. Within this, prices rose 11.3%, though volumes fell 2.1%.

The board declared a fourth-quarter dividend of EUR0.4268, flat on a year prior.

The company continues to expects high cost inflation in 2023, and sees full-year underlying sales growth in the upper half of its multi-year range of 3%-5%.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 09, 2023 02:35 ET (07:35 GMT)

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