Unilever shares soar as it posts best sales growth in 16 years – boosted by deodorant ads during World Cup

Unilever shares surged this morning after it posted its best sales growth for 16 years, boosted by advertising of its deodorants during the World Cup. 

The conglomerate – which owns household names including Dove, Marmite and Tresemme – also upgraded its annual outlook as it hailed booming sales in India and Latin America.

It is a shot in the arm for chief executive Fernando Fernandez, who told investors his plans to focus Unilever on its beauty and personal care division were seeing results.

Sales volumes rose 5.5 per cent in the second quarter which was the biggest increase since 2010. This helped sales rise 5.8 per cent to £11.11 billion.

Unilever shares rose 6.18 per cent on Tuesday morning, buoying the FTSE 100.

Fernandez said sales were driven by the performance of Unilever’s beauty and wellbeing, personal care, and home care divisions in the second quarter.

There was a ‘strong performance’ from products involved in World Cup sponsorships, including Dove, Rexona and Lynx deodorants and soaps.

He added that the World Cup was a ‘pivotal moment’ for the consumer giant, which recruited 50,000 social media ‘content creators’ to help promote its sponsorships, ‘at a scale few companies can match.’

In particular, there was double-digit growth for its ‘power brands’ Dove, Sunsilk and Vaseline. 

Brands would also continue to benefit from being featured in the tournament for months to come, he added.

Fernandez has come under fire for agreeing to combine products, including Marmite and Hellmann’s, with US spice giant McCormick in a £33billion deal.

But on Tuesday he said the results ‘show our ability to continue performing while transforming our portfolio.’

‘Our brands are stronger, our execution is sharper and we are driving desire at scale,’ Fernandez added.

The company now expects annual sales growth between 4 and 6 per cent, compared to an earlier forecast towards the ‘lower end’ of this range.

It predicts volumes will grow 3 per cent, compared to an earlier steer for 2 per cent growth.

The update has seen the business shrug off gloomy consumer confidence, which has taken a hit amid the war in the Middle East.

The company said it had been managing some pressure on its supply chain, including some chemical ingredients used by brands in its homecare business.

It has been focusing on these well-known household names while getting rid of names such as healthy snack brand Graze and some international segments and brands, including its Indonesia Tea Business.

But sales declined 1.3 per cent in Europe, with volume sales down 0.2 per cent, as Fernandez described sentiment there as ‘really soft’.

When asked what the UK’s role in this downturn was, he said that the UK ‘is one of our most important European markets’ and the group would continue to invest in it.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: ‘Investors looking for a refuge from the ongoing turmoil in AI stocks need look no further than good old Unilever, which is poised for its best day since December 2025.

‘This isn’t just a boost from higher prices – the group is just shifting more stuff overall, which provides plenty of confidence that it can hit its upgraded targets, especially if its emerging markets business continues to deliver.’

Unilever said on Tuesday that it expects the McCormick deal – which will include a secondary listing location in London, as well as the New York stock exchange – will complete by mid-2027 ‘at the latest’.

Veteran fund manager Terry Smith, who sold his entire stake in Unilever earlier this year, has accused Unilever of misleading him over its split-up. He said the McCormick deal has ‘all the hallmarks’ of activist investor Nelson Peltz.

Peltz – who has been on the Unilever board since 2022 – is reported to have been a key advocate of the McCormick deal. He has previously agitated for change at companies including Cadbury and PepsiCo.

The McCormick tie-up is seen by some in the City as unfair for Unilever investors who cannot vote on it. It came after Unilever spun off Magnum ice cream, which listed in Amsterdam last year.