Unilever sees no improvement in 2015

Unilever (UNA), whose detergents and deodorants are used by 2 billion consumers daily, said its financial performance in 2015 will be similar to last year amid weaker demand in emerging markets such as China.

Underlying sales advanced 2.9 percent last year, the London- and Rotterdam-based company said today, the worst performance in more than a decade. Growth slowed to 2.1 percent in the final three months of the year, trailing analyst estimates, as consumers bought less of the company's personal-care and food products.

"We do not plan on a significant improvement in market conditions in 2015," Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman said in a statement. The first quarter will be "softer," with growth improving as the year goes on, he said.

The maker of Axe body sprays has seen sales growth slip as demand for its soaps and shampoos has weakened in emerging markets, particularly China, where big retailers have run down inventories of Unilever products, leading to a sales decline of about 20 percent. The company is also splitting its U.S. and European spreads operations into a standalone unit this year. Unilever fell as much as 2.6 percent in early Amsterdam trading and was down 1.5 percent at 34.26 euros at 9:08 a.m., cutting the gain over the past 12 months to 18 percent.

The results statement was notable for the absence of a forecast of market-beating growth. "We have come to expect commitment to growth ahead of the company's markets and core operating margin improvement," said James Edwardes Jones, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huet said in a phone interview that the company does plan to grow sales at a faster pace than the broader markets, and "maybe we could have and should have" said so in the results statement.

Unilever's operating margin improved 0.4 percentage point to 14.5 percent last year as the company reined in spending on advertising and head office costs.