Marks and Spencer this yesterday (8 April) posted lacklustre growth in its fourth-quarter food sales, as food deflation weighed on the results despite volumes rising.The UK retailer revealed that food sales in the period ended 27 March rose by just 2.6%, trailing gains of 10.6% in general merchandise and 48% at the group’s online venture, M&S Direct. However, speaking to the media after the trading update, chairman Sir Stuart Rose insisted that the group’s food business remained in... ...Read more »

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, said it will “reignite” volume growth by investing in its brands. Speaking at the company’s earnings conference call last week, CEO Paul Polman said that gross margins had steadily improved, not only in the last quarter, but over several quarters. “There’s no reason why that won’t continue,” Polman insisted. “We’ve shown a gross margin improvement of 290 basis points in quarter three and it’s now up... ...Read more »

Unilever last night reported strong volume growth in the third quarter but price falls dented sales growth compared to the first half of the year. The maker of Street and Lipton announced a 3.4% increase in underlying sales growth for the third quarter, compared to 4.1% for the first three quarters but volume growth picked up to 3.6% (it stands at 1.4% for the first nine months). Despite the growth in sales and volumes, profit has fallen by 36% in the first nine months due largely to asset sales. “We... ...Read more »

The global beer market continues to grow despite the dramatic upheaval in the world’s financial markets in 2008. The economic woes have, however, impacted beer volumes and, according to beverage research agency Canadean, growth in the global beer market dropped from a respectable 6% in 2007 to less than 2% in 2008. Canadean’s recently published Global Beer Trends Report anticipates a further slowdown in 2009 before demand begins to accelerate again in 2010. Asia’s growing influence... ...Read more »

Consumer products giant Unilever has seen sales rise 4.1 per cent as volumes were surprisingly resilient – showing 2 per cent growth. The sales growth came at a cost, however, with net profit falling by 15 per cent as margins declined. “While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions and the majority of countries and categories,” Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever, said. “More of our brands... ...Read more »