Unilever is set to address challenges in its ice-cream business after a lacklustre performance in 2023. Despite a 2.3% year-on-year growth in underlying sales for the category, the company witnessed a significant 6% decline in volumes.
Accounting for 13% of the group’s turnover, the ice-cream segment generated €7.9 billion ($8.5 billion) in revenue for 2023, marking only a marginal increase of 0.5% compared to 2022, as announced by the consumer-goods giant today (February 8).
In the fourth quarter alone, ice-cream turnover amounted to €1.2 billion, reflecting a slight 0.2% decline compared to the previous year. Underlying sales growth (USG) also experienced a downturn of 0.4%, while volumes decreased by 0.8%.
The underlying operating margin for the ice-cream category saw a notable drop of 90 basis points to 10.8%, primarily attributed to a low gross margin resulting from cost inflation and volume deleverage surpassing pricing adjustments.