On 28 October, European consumer goods giant Unilever announced its results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
For the third quarter ended 30 September, the Group reported turnover of EUR 13.271 billion, up 6.7% year on year. Underlying sales growth (USG) was 5.2%, with volume and price contributing 2.9 and 2.3 percentage points, respectively. In the first nine months, Group turnover rose 2.7% year on year to EUR 38.919 billion. Underlying sales grew 4.9%, with volume growth of 3.8% and price growth of 1.1%.
In the third quarter, underlying sales in China grew by low single digits, with mid-single-digit volume growth. The company said all business groups contributed to volume growth in China, with social commerce performing strongly.
By business group, Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care benefited from innovations supporting premiumisation, including new ranges from Vaseline and Lux. Home Care maintained mid-single-digit growth, while Unilever Food Solutions delivered low-single-digit growth.
By region, Asia Pacific Africa remained a key growth engine for Unilever, delivering underlying sales growth of 10.1% in the third quarter, with volume growth of 5.8% and price growth of 4.1%.
Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez said in the results announcement, “We have delivered another quarter of competitive growth, led by continued strong volume delivery and a step up in price to offset the impact of higher commodity costs. Our Power Brands continued to lead performance, with strong growth across Home Care, Personal Care and Beauty & Wellbeing. Emerging markets were again a key driver, with broadbased growth across markets, led by India and continued strength in Latin America and South East Asia.”
By Business Group
— Beauty & Wellbeing
Beauty & Wellbeing was one of Unilever’s stronger-performing business groups in the third quarter.
Turnover for the quarter rose 9.5% year on year to EUR 3.477 billion. Underlying sales grew 5.7%, with volume growth of 3.6% and price growth of 2.1%. In the first nine months of 2026, turnover increased 3.4% year on year to EUR 9.992 billion. Underlying sales grew 5.8%, with volume growth of 4.2% and price growth of 1.6%.
Beauty & Wellbeing accounted for approximately 26% of Group turnover in the third quarter.
By category, Hair Care delivered double-digit growth during the quarter, while Skin Care grew by mid single digits, primarily driven by Power Brands and the prestige portfolio.
In Hair Care, Dove maintained double-digit growth, driven mainly by innovations supporting premiumisation, including serums, masks and scalp care products, with strong performances in India and the US. Sunsilk and Clear also achieved double-digit growth, led by Latin America and Southeast Asia. Prestige hair care brand K18 continued to deliver strong double-digit growth.
In Skin Care, Vaseline delivered double-digit growth, performing well across multiple markets, particularly Asia Pacific Africa. Within the prestige portfolio, Hourglass, Paula’s Choice and Dermalogica were the main growth drivers.
By contrast, Wellbeing declined by high single digits during the quarter, partly reflecting changes in shipment timing related to Amazon Prime Day promotions. Earlier shipments benefited the second quarter, putting corresponding pressure on the third quarter. Underlying sales in the business declined 1.0% over the first nine months of 2026.
Unilever said it was rebalancing Wellbeing’s revenue mix and relative pricing across channels, including direct-to-consumer, club retailers, pure-play online retailers and omnichannel retailers. Liquid I.V. expanded internationally and continued to gain market share in mass retail and online channels, although some of this growth was offset by reduced distribution and the entry of private-label products in the club channel. Nutrafol‘s measures to improve customer acquisition efficiency remained at an early stage. Newly acquired Grüns delivered strong growth in its first full quarter with Unilever.
— Personal Care
Personal Care reported third-quarter turnover of EUR 3.636 billion, up 9.7% year on year. Underlying sales grew 6.3%, with volume growth of 3.8% and price growth of 2.4%.
In the first nine months of 2026, turnover rose 6.2% year on year to EUR 10.459 billion. Underlying sales grew 5.3%, with volume growth of 4.0% and price growth of 1.3%.
By category, Skin Cleansing delivered high-single-digit growth, while Deodorants grew by mid single digits. Dove, the largest brand in Unilever’s Personal Care business, achieved double-digit growth in the third quarter, with mid-single-digit volume growth.
Growth in Deodorants was primarily volume-led. Emerging markets delivered double-digit growth, with Latin America performing particularly well, while Asia Pacific Africa achieved high-single-digit growth. Skin Cleansing grew through both volume and price, with Dove’s ranges supporting premiumisation in body serums continuing to support the category.
Oral Care declined by low single digits during the quarter, as growth in Southeast Asia and India did not fully offset weakness in Europe.
— Home Care
Home Care was Unilever’s fastest-growing business group in the third quarter, with turnover rising 7.5% year on year to EUR 3.049 billion. Underlying sales grew 9.1%, with volume growth of 5.4% and price growth of 3.6%.
In the first nine months of 2026, turnover increased 3.6% year on year to EUR 9.049 billion. Underlying sales grew 8.1%, with volume growth of 6.7%.
By category, Fabric Cleaning delivered double-digit growth, while Fabric Enhancers and Home & Hygiene both grew by mid single digits. Fabric Cleaning performed strongly in emerging markets. India delivered double-digit growth and reached a record market share, while Brazil also achieved double-digit growth.
Home cleaning brand Cif delivered another quarter of double-digit growth. Its Infinite Clean range continued to perform well, expanding its reach through new product launches and entry into additional markets. Fabric care brand Comfort was a key growth driver in its category, with a particularly strong performance in Asia Pacific Africa.
— Foods
By contrast, Foods delivered underlying sales growth of just 0.1% in the third quarter, with volume declining 1.1% and price increasing 1.3%. Growth in emerging markets and Unilever Food Solutions offset a decline in developed-market retail.
By Market
By region, emerging markets delivered underlying sales growth of 9.5% in the third quarter, with volume growth of 6.0% and price growth of 3.3%. Underlying sales in developed markets declined 0.9%, with volume down 1.7%.
— Asia Pacific Africa
Third-quarter turnover in Asia Pacific Africa rose 8.3% year on year to EUR 5.968 billion, with underlying sales growth of 10.1%. India delivered sales growth of 15%, with volume growth of 7%. Both Home Care and Beauty & Wellbeing achieved strong double-digit growth.
China delivered low-single-digit underlying sales growth and mid-single-digit volume growth, with social commerce performing strongly. Indonesia grew 7%, primarily driven by volume.
— Americas
Latin America delivered underlying sales growth of 8.5% in the third quarter, with volume growth of 6.5%.
Underlying sales in North America declined 0.7% during the quarter.
— Europe
Underlying sales in Europe declined 1.7% in the third quarter, reflecting factors including softer market conditions and a higher comparison base in the same period last year.
Based on its performance in the first nine months, Unilever raised its full-year outlook for 2026. It continues to expect full-year underlying sales growth within its multi-year guidance range of 4% to 6%, with underlying volume growth now expected to reach at least 3% and underlying sales growth of around 5% in the second half. The company also expects a modest improvement in its full-year underlying operating margin compared with 20.0% in 2025.
| Source: Official press release
| Image Credit: Unilever’s official website
| Editor: Luxeplace
