Unilever To Separate Ice Cream Unit, To Cut 7,500 Jobs; Stock Up

RTTNews | 554 days ago
Unilever To Separate Ice Cream Unit, To Cut 7,500 Jobs; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Shares of Unilever Plc were gaining around 3 percent in the morning trading on London Stock Exchange as well as in pre-market activity on the NYSE after the consumer goods major announced Tuesday its plans to seperate Ice Cream division, and to launch a major productivity programme to drive faster growth and higher margin. The proposed changes would impact around 7,500 predominantly office-based roles globally.

Ice Cream will be separated as a standalone, world-leading business. The proposed separation activity of Ice Cream will begin immediately, with full separation expected by the end of 2025.

It is expected that after separating Ice Cream and implementing the productivity programme, Unilever will have a structurally higher margin. Following the separation, Unilever aims to deliver mid-single digit underlying sales growth and modest margin improvement.

Ian Meakins, Chair of Unilever said, "The Board is determined to transform Unilever into a higher-growth, higher-margin business that will deliver consistently for all stakeholders. … The separation of Ice Cream and the delivery of the productivity programme will help create a simpler, more focused, and higher performing Unilever. It will also create a world-leading ice cream business, with strong growth prospects and an exciting future as a standalone business."

The steps are part of its decision to accelerate its Growth Action Plan. The company said it needs to be increasingly focused on a portfolio of superior brands with strong positions that have complementary operating models, while Ice Cream has a very different operating model.

According to Unilever, the future growth potential of Ice Cream will be better delivered under a different ownership structure.

The Ice Cream business has five of the top 10 selling global ice cream brands including Wall's, Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, with exposure in both the in-home and out-of-home segments. Ice Cream brands together delivered turnover of 7.9 billion euros in 2023.

Following the planned separation, Unilever will become a simpler, more focused company, operating four Business Groups across Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care and Nutrition.

Further, the company said the productivity programme is anticipated to deliver total cost savings of around 800 million euros over the next three years, more than offsetting estimated operational dis-synergies from the separation of Ice Cream.

The total restructuring costs from the proposed changes are now anticipated to be around 1.2 percent of Group turnover for the next three years, up from the around 1 percent of Group turnover previously communicated. These proposals will be subject to consultation.

In London, Unilever shares were trading at 3,934.81 pence, up 3.24 percent. In pre-market activity on the NYSE, the shares were at $49.97, up 3 percent.

read more
Unilever Stock Up On Q3 Underlying Sales Growth, Outlook

Unilever Stock Up On Q3 Underlying Sales Growth, Outlook

Shares of Unilever Plc were gaining around 3 percent in the Amsterdam trading as well as on the NYSE on Thursday after the consumer goods major reported higher underlying sales growth in its third quarter, and maintained its fiscal 2024 growth forecast. The third-quarter sales, on a reported basis, remained flat.
RTTNews | 334 days ago
Unilever Recalls 137K Cases Of Popsicle Jolly Rancher Pops

Unilever Recalls 137K Cases Of Popsicle Jolly Rancher Pops

Consumer good major Unilever U.S. is recalling around 137,000 cases of Popsicle Jolly Rancher Frozen Confection Pop products for single serve offerings in the United States citing the possible presence of undeclared milk, a known allergen, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
RTTNews | 397 days ago
Unilever Recalls Select Knorr Sopa Soup Mix Products

Unilever Recalls Select Knorr Sopa Soup Mix Products

Unilever United States Inc., affiliated to consumer goods major Unilever, is recalling select Knorr Sopa Soup Mix products citing undeclared egg, a known allergen. The recall involves Knorr Estrellitas con Tomate Tomato Based Star Pasta Soup Mix with GTIN/UPC 048001716193; Knorr Fideos con Tomate Tomato Based Pasta Soup Mix with GTIN/UPC 048001716162; and Knorr Letras con Tomate Tomato Based
RTTNews | 775 days ago
European Shares Set To Follow Wall Street Lower

European Shares Set To Follow Wall Street Lower

European stocks may drift lower at open on Wednesday after U.S. stock markets retreated from record highs overnight on apprehensions about the outlook for interest-rate cuts.
RTTNews | 2h 31min ago
Japan Private Sector Growth Weakest In 4 Months

Japan Private Sector Growth Weakest In 4 Months

Japan's private sector grew at the slowest pace in four months in September as the strong rise in services activity was partially offset by a steeper fall in manufacturing production, flash survey data published by S&P Global showed on Wednesday. The flash composite output index fell to 51.1 in September from a six-month high of 52.0 in August.
RTTNews | 3h 1min ago
Sensex, Nifty Extend Losses For Fourth Day

Sensex, Nifty Extend Losses For Fourth Day

Indian shares opened on a sluggish note on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump accused India and China of being the primary funders of Russia's war in Ukraine through their continued purchase of Russian oil.
RTTNews | 3h 17min ago
Australian Market Doubles Early Losses In Mid-market

Australian Market Doubles Early Losses In Mid-market

The Australian stock market is doubling its early losses in mid-market moves on Wednesday, snapping a three-session winning streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 8,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in gold miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in iron ore miners and energy stocks.
RTTNews | 4h 45min ago