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Investing.com -- Unilever (LON:ULVR) on Thursday reported a 3.7% drop in diluted earnings per share for the first half of 2025, as operating profit declined and costs rose from the separation of its Ice Cream business. Diluted EPS fell to €1.42, while underlying EPS declined 2.1% to €1.59.
Operating profit dropped 10.6% to €5.3 billion, while underlying operating profit fell 4.8% to €5.8 billion. The underlying operating margin decreased by 30 basis points to 19.3%.
Free cash flow halved to €1.1 billion from €2.2 billion in the prior-year period. The British consumer goods company cited lower earnings, ice cream separation costs, and increased working capital outflows. Gross margin remained flat at 45.7%.
Turnover declined 3.2% to €30.1 billion, with a 4% negative currency impact and the effect of business disposals.
Despite this, underlying sales grew 3.4%, supported by 1.5% volume growth and 1.9% price increases. In the second quarter, underlying sales rose 3.8%.
All business units recorded positive sales growth. Ice Cream led with 5.9%, followed by Personal Care at 4.8%, Beauty & Wellbeing at 3.7%, Foods at 2.2%, and Home Care at 1.3%.
Volume was the key driver in Ice Cream and Home Care, while pricing contributed more in Foods and Personal Care.
Regional performance was led by developed markets, where sales rose 4.3% with 3.4% volume growth.
North America posted a 5.4% increase, and Europe rose 3.4%. Emerging markets grew 2.8%, despite declines in China and Indonesia.
India saw consolidated sales growth of 4% and volume growth of 3%. The maker of Dove, Knorr and Axe reported a sequential improvement in China and Indonesia during the second quarter.
Personal Care, which includes Dove, reported €6.5 billion in turnover and 4.8% underlying sales growth.
Beauty & Wellbeing also posted €6.5 billion in turnover and 3.7% sales growth, driven by Wellbeing products. Prestige Beauty was flat.
Foods grew 2.2%, supported by Hellmann’s and gains in Unilever Food Solutions. Home Care rose 1.3%, with Fabric Enhancers and Home & Hygiene growing mid-single digit. Fabric Cleaning declined slightly.
Ice Cream, now operating independently since July 1, posted €4.6 billion in turnover and a 5.9% rise in sales.
Operating profit for the unit fell 2.2% to €0.7 billion. The company remains on track to demerge the division by mid-November.
Unilever completed a €1.5 billion share buyback and declared a second-quarter dividend of €0.4528, up 3% from a year earlier. Net debt increased to €26.4 billion from €24.5 billion at the end of 2024.
The company maintained its full-year forecast for 3% to 5% underlying sales growth and expects operating margin improvement in the second half of 2025.