IMM Graduate School’s Post

Today Unilever announced its results for Q4 and full year 2023.   Some of the key highlights:   ⬆ We delivered underlying sales growth of 7.0% with positive volumes, up 0.2% for the FY and 1.8% in Q4.   🚀 Our 30 Power Brands continued to drive overall USG, growing by 8.6% and representing around 75% of our turnover.   📈 We increased our overall brand and marketing investment by 130bps to 14.3%, focused on our 30 Power Brands and digital channels, where we saw a 50% increase in d-commerce sales.   🌟 We actively optimised our portfolio into premium segments, including acquisitions of K18 and Yasso.   🌎 Underlying sales growth in North America at a strong 5.8% with 2.5% from volume growth, which accelerated to 6.3% in the fourth quarter.   🔬 Personal Care grew underlying sales 8.9% for the year, led by its Power Brands, science-backed innovations, and a step up in marketing investment.   You can find more details about our Full Year 2023 Results below:

Here are the Factors that Support Colgate-Palmolive’s (CL) Outperformance https://lnkd.in/g6BUNM-9

✨Unilever Ranks No. 6 in Top 100✨ Unilever reported double-digit growth across health and wellbeing, dressings, fabric cleaning, and its deodorant segments. It attributed the giants to several strategic initiatives, including sharpening its portfolio by exiting unprofitable businesses in ice cream and nutrition and expediting SKU rationalization within personal care and home care; focusing on organizational changes; and forming a clear supply chain strategy with a focus on digital and sustainable innovation. 📰In the news: Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher outlined an action plan to focus on cost management, productivity gains, and production and logistics innovation. Learn more about why this company ranked in the No. 6 spot 👉https://lnkd.in/eqNwm2ix #top100consumergoods #cpgindustry #consumergoods #unilever

Strong Unilever results: “Underlying sales growth of 7.0% with positive volumes, up 0.2% for the FY and 1.8% in Q4 Turnover of €59.6 billion with -5.7% impact from currency and -1.7% from net disposals Underlying operating margin up 60bps to 16.7%, with gross margin up 200bps for the year and up 330bps in the second half Underlying EPS increased 1.4% with -9.6% of adverse currency, up 11% on a constant basis Diluted EPS down -14.2% against prior year that included €2.3 billion profit on disposal for the Tea business Strong cash conversion of 111% with free cash flow up €1.9 billion to €7.1 billion New €1.5 billion share buyback to commence in Q2 Progress against Growth Action Plan, including: New leadership team has embedded the plan across the organisation 30 Power Brands (around 75% of turnover) accretive to growth and margin, with underlying sales up 8.6% Brand and marketing investment up 130bps to 14.3%, focused on 30 Power Brands Active portfolio optimisation into premium segments, announced acquisitions of K18 and Yasso and disposals of Elida Beauty, Dollar Shave Club, and Suave in North America”

✅ Read Unilever CGMO’s post for highlights on our company’s Q4 and full year 2023 results. 🤔 For more details, please read the article linked in Esi’s post. #unilever #uniquelyunilever #growth #financialresults #businessnews #fmcg #fmcgnews #leadership

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this ‘growth action plan’ from Unilever over the years. Whether a big business or a small business, the old adage ‘it’s not about what you do, it’s about what you don’t do’ always rings true. Make those bold decisions, focus on less, challenge teams to invest as if it was their own money, excel at execution, continually evaluate the results and adjust accordingly. Easy to say harder to implement unfortunately. https://lnkd.in/ek3QScwt

📈 **Rising Consumer Confidence: A Boon for Consumer Stocks Like PG, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola** A recent survey by Cowen & Co., involving 6,500 U.S. consumers, reveals a significant uptick in consumer confidence, with 59% of respondents feeling optimistic about their financial situation—a considerable leap from the previous 52%. This resurgence in confidence suggests a robust outlook for consumer stocks, notably Procter & Gamble (PG), Unilever, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola. Here’s how these brands are performing according to consumer preferences: 1. **Procter & Gamble (PG):** Leading the pack, PG is favored by 17% of those surveyed. It's not just popularity but also pricing power that sets PG apart—53% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for its products. 2. **Unilever:** Positioned second with 13% preference, Unilever’s commitment to sustainability and innovation is clearly striking a chord with shoppers. 3. **PepsiCo and Coca-Cola:** These beverage giants continue to capture consumer interest, with 9% and 8% preference, respectively, underscoring their entrenched brand power and diverse product lines. ⚠️ Approach with caution: While the outlook is positive, 71% of consumers remain worried about inflation, which could affect spending behaviors, especially on non-essential items. 🤔 **Your thoughts?** How do you perceive these brands in the current economic climate? Are you more inclined to invest in stocks with high consumer confidence ratings? 📊 Also, do you consider a brand’s focus on sustainability when making investment decisions? Feel free to share your insights and experiences. Your perspectives enrich our discussions! #Investing #ConsumerConfidence #StockMarket #ProcterAndGamble #Unilever #PepsiCo #CocaCola #Sustainability 👇 **Let's dive into this dialogue!**

Successful CPG companies will be focused on the long-term. Those that invest in the future will be well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that arise in the next twelve to eighteen months.

It’s been a challenging decade for FMCG companies, but some have managed to succeed amid disruption. They didn’t simply rely on being in the right category at the right time, but rather focused on gaining market share without sacrificing margins and investing in balanced growth, raising prices smartly, and protecting their bottom line. BCG’s latest article explores the actions of these winning companies to define a new playbook for success. https://lnkd.in/eCfJbnzC

We are witnessing an unprecedented cost savings programs in the FMCG industry Since Jan 2024, we are witnessing a proliferation/ acceleration of large scale cost-savings programs (9 out of the top 55 world largest FMCG companies worth $13bn) Concerned companies are mostly the top under-performers of the post COVID era (Shiseido, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., Asahi Beverages- top/ bottom line & market cap wise), the CHC pure-players that are now fully transitioning their operating models to a full FMCG one (Haleon & Kenvue) but not only (The HEINEKEN Company, Unilever, Kimberly-Clark) If time top-line growth is becoming increasingly challenging (33% top-line miss in Q1), 56% of the world largest FMCG companies did already beat their pre-COVID profitability But let's be clear, the FMCG companies that created the most shareholder value over the last 20 years did so primarily through superior top-line performance, not through cost cutting (Kraft Heinz/ 3G playbook) More details in our Q1 2024 results publication: 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀: 𝗤𝟭 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝗜𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁 https://lnkd.in/eqtWZjxV Time to refocus for all on organic (volume) growth Exciting times To read our last publication on how to accelerate organic (volume) growth: 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀: 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 (𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲) 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆 - 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗭𝗕𝗕 𝘁𝗼 𝗭𝗕𝗚® (𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱-𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵) https://lnkd.in/eV5d39VE 𝗧𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 & 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: https://lnkd.in/ea4gy65y #fmcg #cpg