Second-quarter sales at Unilever fell much less than expected as a pick up in eating at home during coronavirus lockdowns boosted demand for products such as Hellmann's mayonnaise and Breyers ice cream.
) fell much less than expected as a pick up in eating at home during coronavirus lockdowns boosted demand for products such as Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Breyers ice cream.
“Overall, Unilever’s strong performance in the period and an increasingly focused strategy has led to a sigh of overdue relief from investors,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investors. Underlying sales in North America jumped 7.3% in the first half, with volumes up as much as 20% in some categories, Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly told a media call. The United States is Unilever’s biggest market by revenue.
Highlighting the huge disruptions caused by the pandemic, Unilever said food service sales declined by nearly 40% and out-of-home ice cream by nearly 30% in the first half. However, e-commerce sales were up 49%, with North America leaping 177%.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
U.S. virus surge in June preceded by May surge in Yelp entries for bars, restaurantsThe surge of U.S. coronavirus cases that began in June was preceded in May by a large jump in consumer interest in social activities like dining out and going to bars and gyms, website Yelp reported on Wednesday in an analysis of searches and reviews conducted on its platform.
Read more »
Virus surge in June preceded by May surge in Yelp entries for bars, restaurantsSurge of US coronavirus cases that began in June was preceded by a large jump in consumer interest in social activities such as dining out and going to bars and gyms, Yelp says in an analysis of searches and reviews conducted on its platform.
Read more »
Hollywood Charges Forward With Production Plans Despite Virus SurgeStudios keep plotting returns to filming in states including California, New York, Georgia and Illinois as they hash out details of on-set COVID-19 protocols with the guilds.
Read more »
Texas’ Rio Grande Valley struggles to survive as coronavirus cases surgeTexas’ Rio Grande Valley is being pushed to the brink by coronavirus cases. One county even issued emergency orders mandating people shelter at home, limiting essential travel. NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson looks at how the area is struggling to survive.
Read more »
Reopening plans at UC Berkeley, other campuses fall apart amid coronavirus surgePlans to begin the fall semester with some in-person classes are being shelved at UC Berkeley, UC Merced, Pomona, Occidental and other schools.
Read more »
Trump Relaunches Coronavirus News Briefings as Cases SurgePresident Trump warned that the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. is likely to worsen and urged Americans to wear masks, resuming regular news conferences in a bid to quell mounting criticism of how his administration had handled the crisis
Read more »