Critically, 2025 saw growth improve during the year, but we
still need to accelerate the execution of our strategy to perform
consistently at the highest level. In Latin America, for example,
which had a disappointing year, we have had to take corrective
pricing action and adjust our format mix in key categories to
get the business back on track. Overall, however, the company
is moving in the right direction. Volume growth from our
Power Brands is a key priority, and by focusing our teams
on strengthening brand equities and improving the quality of
execution, our new Chief Executive Officer, Fernando Fernandez,
and our recently appointed Chief Financial Officer, Srinivas
Phatak, are off to a good start, together with our Unilever
Leadership Executive (ULE) colleagues.
RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE
All figures quoted for 2025 exclude the Ice Cream business.
Turnover for the year was €50.5 billion, down 3.8% versus the
previous year due to significant currency headwinds. Excluding
the impact of currency, turnover was up 2.3%, driven by
underlying sales growth of 3.5% – a solid performance given
slower market conditions. Operating profit was €9.0 billion, or
€10.1 billion on an underlying basis. The company delivered free
cash flow of €5.9 billion, representing 100% cash conversion.
Underlying earnings per share (EPS) rose 0.7% to €3.08, as sales
growth, margin expansion and the share buyback more than
offset currency headwinds. Diluted EPS was up 6.2% to €2.59.
We returned €6.0 billion to shareholders in 2025, comprising
€4.5 billion in dividends and €1.5 billion in share buybacks.
We have announced a further share buyback of €1.5 billion
in 2026, reflecting the strength of our balance sheet.
Our total shareholder return (TSR) has improved significantly
versus two years ago, supported by our improved execution and
clearer strategic focus. We are up 26.8% over that time and have
performed very well against our peers (with the peer average
TSR down 8%). However, in the five years leading up to the end
of 2023, our returns significantly underperformed versus peers.
Clearly, going forward, Fernando, the ULE and the Board are all
determined to meet our ambition of being in the top third of our
peer group, as measured by TSR, on a consistent basis. As we
continue to execute our plans better and faster, I am confident
we can achieve great returns for our shareholders.
STRATEGY
The execution of our strategy improved in 2025, but we have
a long way to go to be a consistently outperforming company
in our sector. We have a very clear and focused set of strategic
priorities to improve our performance for the long term (see
pages 4 and 5). Encouragingly, some Power Brands in our largest
geographies are performing strongly. The task now is to achieve
consistent high performance across all our key market and brand
combinations.
Many of our brands are benefiting from the embedding of
more science-based, premium innovations, as well as from the
adoption of new, social-first models for reaching and engaging
with consumers. This Desire at Scale approach is being led by
brands like Dove and Vaseline, both of which grew strongly in
2025. We have similar examples of great performance when
it comes to sales execution in our largest geographies. Last
year, in the US, our biggest market, we recovered much of the
market share lost over recent years and improved profitability.
Encouragingly, we were ranked second overall among suppliers
in the prestigious Advantage Group Survey of retailers. We were
ranked number one in Foods and number one in Personal Care
in the same survey. So, we know what best-in-class execution
looks like.
Our challenge now is to replicate these examples of great
performance more widely and consistently across all our
brands and categories, and to do so at speed. Our aim is to
deliver market share gains and healthy profit growth that
support attractive returns for our shareholders.
BOARD AND GOVERNANCE
Last year, we welcomed Benoît Potier and Zoe Yujnovich to the
Board, both of whom have already made important contributions
as Non-Executive Directors. We were also very pleased to
announce the appointment of Belén Garijo López as a Non-
Executive Director, which we expect to take effect during 2027.
We are very grateful to Susan Kilsby, who stepped into the
role of Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director at the
2025 AGM, and who has also taken on the role of Chair of the
Remuneration Committee.
An external evaluation of the effectiveness of the Board and its
Committees was conducted in 2025. The overall findings for the
Board were positive, with a strong level of satisfaction reported
among Board members. As in previous years, individual Non-
Executives took the opportunity to deepen their understanding
of the business by visiting key markets, including the US and
India. A group of Directors also visited one of the company’s
global R&D centres at Port Sunlight in the UK to see how leading-
edge science and technology is being used to elevate the quality
of our brands and innovations. Other details of the Board’s
activities in 2025, including engagement with stakeholders, are
set out on pages 58 to 61 of this report.
Over the last year, we have consulted widely with our largest
shareholders on how to ensure our remuneration policy best
supports the company’s growth ambition, in the context of a
highly competitive global talent market. To that end, we will
be putting forward proposals at the 2026 AGM which give
greater weight to the variable elements of reward. We are
also re-committing to our Performance Share Plan (PSP) as the
most effective long-term incentive structure for driving a high-
performance culture and long-term growth for shareholders.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sustainable growth is key and, to that end, we have previously
set out a multi-year guidance range of 4% to 6% underlying sales
growth, underpinned by at least 2% volume growth. This will
come from great execution of the clear strategic priorities that
Fernando, the ULE and the Board have agreed on. These include
building a brand portfolio for the future with more Beauty,
Wellbeing, and Personal Care, prioritising premium segments and
digital commerce, and anchoring our growth in the US and India.
A lot of work has been done over recent years to improve the
portfolio, allocate resource to the highest growth opportunities
and improve the effectiveness of our brand plans, based on the
principles of Unmissable Brand Superiority (UBS). We have also
invested to step up our R&D programmes, the productivity of
our organisation and the calibre of our leadership.
Hence, many of the building blocks for faster volume-driven,
underlying sales growth are now in place. We have the
resources, the plans and the teams necessary to take our
performance to the next level.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone at Unilever for the
considerable progress made in 2025. The market conditions
were not helpful, but we still delivered a good performance.
The Board is looking forward to supporting all our teams in 2026
and over the longer term, as we look to meet our value creation
ambition of being a consistently great company with volume
growth, positive mix and gross margin expansion driving top-
third TSR.
Ian Meakins
Chair
