CAN’T LICK PRICE RISES

Magnum ice cream maker Unilever raked in £11billion in sales over the summer – thanks in part to price rises. The industry giant behind Marmite and Dove soap posted a 3.8% rise in revenues yesterday.

Of that, 2.4% came from selling more by volume, and the rest from hitting customers with higher prices. The rise comes as Unilever’s board and chief executive officer Paul Polman are reeling from criticism over plans to ditch the company’s UK headquarters. Unilever recently announced a U-turn in the face of shareholder unrest. Russ Mould, investment director at City firm AJ Bell, said: “Paul Polman makes no mention of the affair in the commentary alongside the quarterly numbers.

“He may need to do rather better when Unilever reports its full year results in early 2019.”