#Philanderer, another keep for life share this one IMO and wait for the dividend growth to come, premium/luxury has had a tough ride, but for all the reasons in your article I continue to hold here, and plan to add again on new ISA day next year.. :o) |
The Telegraph
Questor: Be optimistic about this consumer giant’s future dividend pay outs
Questor says: buy
Ticker: ULVR
Share price: 4,912p |
Unilever trialling use of unwanted flowers to make fragrances for products |
Unilever slims skincare portfolio with Kate Somerville sale
The FTSE-100 owner of Marmite and Lynx is working with PwC on the potential disposal of skincare brands Kate Somerville and REN, Sky News understands. |
Strange that Peltz trimmed though |
#Philanderer, thanks, I wondered what todays share price catalyst was.. :o) |
Bank of America raises Unilever to 'buy' (underperform) - price target 5,600 (3,800) pence |
Thanks Phil... Some food for thought |
Activist investor Nelson Peltz trims stake in Marmite-owner Unilever
Daily Mail |
KENNEWIL : To use the title you quote from the Guardian article, yes - companies like Unilever ARE free to choose where they advertise....
....BUT if that choice is being made, solely for political reasons in concert with other companies with the same political aim of forcing a particular medium out of business, then we shareholders (who own Unilever) are entitled to kick off about it and complain about the way Unilever is being run.
Our employees - the Unilever board - should stick to the knitting and not cave-in to commercial terrorism. |
Relying on a finance journo with the surname Pratley with regard to US legal matters is definitely a leap of faith. |
https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/article/2024/aug/07/elon-musk-is-being-ridiculous-companies-are-free-to-choose-where-to-advertise |
The chart look s better for a pull back, much the same as BATS does after some strong gains, how long to 5000 here, quite a milestone, but it is now in sight again after late 2019.. :o) |
Given how woke the former leadership was reputed to be, they may just settle after a few legal shenanigans. |
Nice balance LLB - the headlines are always sadly lacking in that.
Suet |
Unlikely to succeed, and applies to Mars and others, they can spend their advertising budget where they like and are not tied to any one platform or Twitter..? |
Unilever is being hit with a anti-trust lawsuit by X (formerly Twitter).https://x.com/lindayaX/status/1820838134470328676?t=WtqJcNtBo0I3eE-AtCx3yw&s=08 |
It would be a bit unprecedented for Unilever to trade 24x earnings. A comparison with European staplers would be more appropriate. I doubt unileve rhad the same quality brands as praocter and gamble (e.g. Gillette, head and shoulders, pampers, Oley etc.) |
 From Investors Chronicle Consumer staples giants Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) and Unilever (ULVR) are both attempting to divest from underperforming business areas as they focus on their top "power brands" in a bid to build market share, cut costs and fend off investor pressure.Last week, Reckitt announced plans to streamline operations and focus on a "high-growth, high-margin" core brand portfolio which delivered a 61 per cent gross margin in 2023 and a five-year like-for-like net revenue compound annual growth rate of 7 per cent.It aims to sell a portfolio of home care brands, including Air Wick, Mortein, Calgon and Cillit Bang, which contributed 13 per cent of net revenue last year. It is also examining "all strategic options" around its infant formula nutrition business Mead Johnson, which suggests a sale of the struggling unit it acquired for $17bn (£13bn) in 2017. The subsidiary posts almost a fifth of the company's net revenue.The fresh strategy under new chief executive Kris Licht is similar to the transformation plan at Unilever. Boss Hein Schumacher, who like Licht took the reins last year, is spearheading a growth plan which focuses on the company's 30 biggest brands. In the latest half, these contributed three-quarters of revenue and outperformed the rest of the business on underlying sales and volume growth. Unilever is also trying to split off its ice cream business, its smallest unit which delivers 15 per cent of revenue between brands Wall's, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's.Both companies have also taken the axe to employee numbers. Reckitt is aiming to cut its fixed cost base from 22 per cent to 19 per cent of net revenue, while Unilever is slashing 7,500 jobs and has guided for $800mn of cost reductions over three years. Restructuring charges are guided to come in £1bn in the three years to 2027 at Reckitt, and 1.2 per cent of revenue this year at Unilever.Plan potentialReckitt is the higher-margin business, which is the context in which Unilever's goal of achieving "a structurally higher margin" must be seen. For the six months to 30 June, Reckitt recorded an underlying operating margin of 24 per cent and gross margin of 61 per cent, compared to 20 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, at its competitor.But the big question mark over Reckitt's strategy comes from ongoing legal headaches at Mead Johnson. Reckitt's shares were hit this week after infant formula rival Abbott Laboratories (US:ABT) lost a $500mn court case in Missouri over allegations it refused to warn that its products can cause the necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) bowel disease. Reckitt lost a $60mn case in Illinois on the issue in March, and more cases are incoming. It is increasingly uncertain if there will be interested buyers queuing up for the division.Analysts at Jefferies estimated that Reckitt's share price "is already discounting for $3.5bn of liability risk" for NEC issues in 2025. But with an NEC trial involving Reckitt kicking off in Missouri in September and multidistrict litigation (MDL) action building up, "that risk may be extended".By contrast, the removal of Unilever's ice cream arm is more straightforward, and would take out a low-margin part of the business which has caused internal legal headaches through subsidiary Ben & Jerry's attempts to stop sales in Israel. It could also help boost underlying sales growth to the higher end of management's 3-5 per cent target range, given the unit's relatively weak performance.Unilever reported a 420 basis point rise in gross margin alongside an increase to annual underlying operating margin guidance in its first half, and boosted brand investment ahead of peers, but margin recovery looks more difficult in the near-term.Analysts at Berenberg said that "while execution remains key [including innovation activity], we think that the recovery in US prestige beauty, easing competition in China, better weather in Europe and easing boycotts on western brands in Indonesia" could boost the company's growth next year.The new strategies come as price hike rates slow across consumer staples as inflation subsides. Nestlé (CH:NESN) said this week that price growth of 2 per cent in its half-year results had come "down faster than expected". Unilever's underlying price growth of 1 per cent in its second quarter was similarly lower than expected by analysts.ValuationsUnilever is the more richly valued of the two businesses, with its shares trading at 19 times forward consensus earnings (above its five-year average) compared to 14 times at Reckitt. Ratings are well under the 24 times earnings at Procter & Gamble (US:PG), where share price growth has shot ahead of rivals after it culled brands. Time will tell if Licht and Schumacher's visions of slimmer businesses will likely bring on similar re-ratings, but Mead Johnson in particular will remain a big worry in the short term. |
Sh*t I sold at £47.5.
I overestimated the general market weakness of the past few days.
I hope I can get back in at about the same price I sold. |
25.07.2024 - in March we announced the separation of Ice Cream and the launch of a major productivity programme to strengthen the company and substantially improve our efficiency and effectiveness. Separation activity is underway and on track to complete by the end of 2025. We are working at pace on the legal entity set up, the standalone operating model and carve-out financials. In July, we communicated internally on the planned changes to simplify our business and further evolve our category-focused operating model. We have started consultations with the respective works councils.
Is this likely to result in a disposal of the whole unit or ULVR still owning a part of it..? a 15% drop in revenues is quite a hole to fill..? or perhaps a nice special dividend IF it results in a sale.. :o) |
From Investors ChronicleUnilever (ULVR) revealed lower-than-expected sales growth on the back of slower price hikes, but the consumer goods giant raised its margin guidance as chief executive Hein Schumacher proceeds with a project to spin off the ice cream business and focus on "power brands" such as Dove and Hellmann's. The company-compiled consensus forecast underlying sales growth of 4.2 per cent in the second quarter. In the end, price growth of 1 per cent was below the expectation of 1.6 per cent and this meant sales growth slowed to 3.9 per cent from 4.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter. The beauty and wellbeing unit led the way on sales growth in the half, helped by a 5.6 per cent rise in volumes, with an underlying increase of 7.1 per cent. Personal care sales rose 5.6 per cent, with home care and nutrition up 3.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively. Ice cream was the laggard, posting sales growth of only 0.6 per cent. Nutrition and ice cream volumes were weak. Gross margin was up 420 basis points to 45.7 per cent, helped by a higher-margin mix alongside lower commodity prices and previous price hikes. This supported increased brand investment, which climbed 180 basis points to 15.1 per cent of revenue.The companies with brand powerUnderlying operating profits came in higher than forecast, up 17.1 per cent to 6.1bn (£5.1bn). The related margin rose 250 basis points to 19.6 per cent, and management now forecasts an annual figure of over 18 per cent compared with the 16.7 per cent posted last year. The hive-off of the ice cream arm is on track to be completed by the end of 2025, and this will remove 15 per cent of revenue and the lowest-margin unit. It will also get rid of the Ben & Jerry's subsidiary, which has caused headaches for Unilever with its attempts to stop product sales in Israel. A new productivity programme is another part of the restructuring plan. Management expects this to save 800mn over three years and result in 7,500 job cuts. Meanwhile, the enhanced focus on power brands looks sensible given these products contribute around 75 per cent of revenue and outperform the rest of the portfolio. Power brands posted underlying sales growth of 5.7 per cent in the half, with volumes up 4 per cent. Market share on a rolling 12-month basis hasn't budged. But strategic progress is being made. A valuation of 18 times forward consensus earnings is in line with the 5-year average. Hold. |
DZ Bank raises fair value for Unilever to 5,100 (4,500) pence - 'hold' |
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