Unilever

Unilever is a Dutchthe British company that is one of the world leaders in the food and household chemicals market (perfumery including).

Financial performance

2022: Revenue - €60.07 billion, net profit - €8.27 billion

At the end of 2022, Unilever's turnover reached €60.07 billion, while a year earlier this figure was €52.44 billion. Thus, an increase of 14.5% was demonstrated. Revenue from sales of cosmetics on an annualized basis rose by 20.8%, reaching €12.3 billion. Personal hygiene products in 2022 brought in €13.6 billion, which is 15.9% more compared to 2021. Revenue in the home products segment rose by 17.3% to €12.4 billion. Food sales in 2022 reached €13.9 billion, which is 6.1% more than in the previous year. In the ice cream production segment, revenue rose by 14.8% to €7.9 billion.

In 2022, Unilever's net profit amounted to about €8.27 billion. This is 24.9% more compared to the result for 2021, when net profit was €6.62 billion.

Business in Russia

Main article: Unilever Rus

History

2024

Arnest Group bought Unilever's Russian business for tens of billions of rubles

The Arnest group, headed by Alexei Sagal, in October 2024 announced the completion of a deal to acquire the Russian and Belarusian businesses of the multinational manufacturer of cosmetic products and household chemicals Unilever. The amount of the transaction was not officially disclosed, but according to experts interviewed by Kommersant, it can range from ₽35 billion to ₽40 billion. Read more here

Plan to cut a third of office staff in Europe or 3,200

In July 2024, it was announced that Unilever planned to cut a third of all office positions in Europe (3,200) by the end of 2025.

Shareholders, including activist investor Nelson Peltz, are demanding the giant increase its growth rate.

2023: Hein Schumacher new CEO of Unilever

Hein Schumacher has been appointed the new CEO of Unilever, who will replace Alan Jope in this post. The company announced this on January 30, 2023. Read more here.

2022

Cutting thousands of jobs worldwide

On January 25, 2022, Unilever said it would cut thousands of jobs in more than 100 countries as part of planned cuts. It comes shortly after the company failed in its bid to buy consumer health unit GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for $67 billion.

By January 2022, the British Unilever employs 149 thousand people around the world. The company's plan to cut thousands of jobs worldwide is part of a broader restructuring strategy in which it will adopt a more competitive operating model.

Unilever cuts thousands of jobs worldwide

The company said the cuts would affect its management teams but would not affect its factory workers.

It comes after the firm failed in its bid to buy consumer health unit GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for $67 billion. Unilever declined to comment on the cuts and faces mounting pressure from investors to accelerate its growth.

It is not yet clear where the job cuts will take place. Unilever drew the ire of some investors on January 19, 2022, when it ended its short-lived collaboration with GSK's medical business.

Unilever initially said it wanted to increase its personal care market share to offset the slow growth of its food business. But GSK, which owns brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkillers, said the offer "fundamentally undervalues" their division. Unilever refuses to raise its bid.

The actions raised concerns about the firm's management led by CEO Alan Jope, with the head of 13th biggest investor Unilever describing GSK's offer as a "near-death experience."^[1]

Restructuring begins after failed bid to buy GlaxoSmithKline

In mid-January 2022, Unilever announced that it would focus on health and hygiene and sell off slow-growing brands as the company considers making a higher offer to buy the consumer division. GlaxoSmithKline The planned reorganization will be aimed at finding other ways to grow, and not at reducing costs.

The change in strategy comes after GlaxoSmithKline management said on January 15, 2021 that it had rejected three offers from consumer products company Unilever for a package of brands including painkiller Advil and toothpaste Sensodyne. One reason for abandoning the cumbersome structure was to ease the prospects for transformational M&A deals.

Unilever begins restructuring after failed bid to buy GlaxoSmithKline

We are not talking about the fact that Unilever will turn from a company with £100 billion ($136 billion) into a company with £150 billion ($204 billion), since the portfolio will rotate. We strive for competitive, responsible growth and do not mix this activity with defensive thinking, "said Chief Executive Officer Alan Jope.

Jope is set to make the most significant change at Unilever since becoming CEO in 2019. The company will review food businesses with lower growth prospects, he said, though it has no plans to eliminate food and refreshing beverage operations altogether. Brands like Hellmann's mayonnaise and Ben & Jerry's ice cream have good growth prospects, he added. As Jope noted, the acquisition of GlaxoSmithKline's division is not the only possible option for Unilever, which is looking to expand into health care.

As analysts value Glaxo's consumer business at £48 billion ($65 billion), any successful offer from Unilever, according to market experts, will have to include a significant premium to this level, as well as take into account the synergies to persuade Glaxo to abandon the spin-off plan, which is already at an advanced stage.

Unilever is in talks with banks by January 2022 for additional funding for a potential sweetened offer to acquire the GlaxoSmithKline unit. Some financial firms have discussed the possibility of providing higher credit funds for Unilever, but the company's leaders have not yet made a final decision on the use of additional funds, as specified in Bloomberg. GlaxoSmithKline's board is open to offers, but the latest offer, made in late 2021, was not within the range the company could consider.

Unilever could either sell the entire food division, which makes Knorr stock cubes, Marmite yeast spread, Colman's and Maille mustard, Hellmann's mayonnaise and other products like plant-based protein alternatives, according to Bloomberg. There is also a second option in which the company can sell its ice cream business, the largest in the world, which includes brands such as Ben & Jerry's, Magnum, Solero, as well as elite gelato brands Grom and Talenti with an annual income of about €7 billion.^[2]

2020: Among the world leaders in pollution of the environment with plastic packaging

Data on the release of plastic packaging in metric tons per year, as of 2020