Unilever posted its half-year report, which saw the company battle with current inflation by raising its current home care products.

The consumer goods firm raised prices for its home care products around the world by a staggering 14.5% year-on-year.

In addition, the first half highlights saw underlying sales growth of 8.1%, and turnover increased 14.9% to €29.6 billion compared to 2021. Meanwhile, underlying earnings per share increased 1% to €1.34.

Furthermore, food prices rose 8.3%, including “double digit price and volume growth” for out-of-home ice cream.

Unilever owns a range of brands from Dove soap, Vaseline, Marmite, and Magnum ice cream. Overall prices were lifted by 9.8% in the first half of the year. My pockets definitely felt the hit.

“Unilever has delivered a first half performance which builds on our momentum of 2021, despite the challenges of high inflation and slower global growth,” said Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever.

The company upgraded its guidance, with sales growth expected to be above its previous range of 4.5% to 6.5%.

However, if it isn’t clear already, the company commented on the troubles with the macroeconomic conditions and inflation causing uncertainty. Although, Unilever expects to improve its margins in 2023 and 2024.

Consumer Demand:

The company reported sales growth in all three sectors, with Home Care leading the way at 10.7%. However, due to inflation issues, the company raised its prices by over 8% in all three areas.

Organic traffic has remained consistent over the years for Unilever. Its website gains significant traffic to access multiple brands from its portfolio. However, its products cannot be purchased through its website, so its traffic is based on engagement with the firm rather than a relation to sales.