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Key Takeaways
- Unilever announced a new 1.5 billion-euro share repurchase plan, boosting its stock even as the company reported disappointing earnings.
- The maker of consumer products posted declines in its fourth quarter earnings and revenue.
- CEO Hein Schumacher called the results “disappointing” and said Unilever has to improve its performance.
Shares of Unilever Plc ( UL ) advanced as the consumer products giant boosted its stock buyback program, and its CEO argued that the company has to do better.
The London-based maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise announced it was launching a new 1.5 billion-euro ($1.61 billion) share repurchase beginning in the second quarter. The company noted it completed its previous 3 billion-euro ($3.22 billion) stock buyback in 2023.
Unilever reported that fourth-quarter revenue fell 3% to 14.2 billion euros ($15.3 billion) as the company’s market share in North America and Europe shrank. For the full year, revenue was down 0.8%. Diluted earnings per share for 2023 fell 14.2% to 2.56 euros ($2.75).
CEO Hein Schumacher, who took over in January 2023, said “our competitiveness remains disappointing and overall performance needs to improve.” He added that Unilever launched a “Growth Action Plan” in October that prioritized “delivering higher-quality growth, stepping up productivity and simplicity, and adopting a strong performance focus.”
Schumacher noted that the turnaround effort is in the early stages, but the company is “moving with speed and urgency to transform Unilever into a consistently higher performing business.”
American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Unilever were up 3.5% at $50.58 around 1:00 p.m. ET. With Thursday’s gain, the stock edged into positive territory for the past year.