- The coronavirus pandemic didn't seriously dampen consumer appetite for Unilever (UL, UN) products as the company reported underlying sales that fell 0.3% in Q2 (analysts had forecast a 3.9% drop).
- Shares are up 7.5% premarket on the news, despite the first decline in quarterly sales since the third quarter of 2004, according to Jefferies.
- Unilever also announced plans to keep its tea business in India and Indonesia, as well as stakes in ready-to-drink beverages, even as it tries to sell the rest of the unit. The assets being sold have annual revenues of €2B.
- The company has additionally been looking for purchases over the past six months and is in the process of abandoning its dual-headed legal structure.
- "A transformation of the business is needed as the company has not been performing up to many shareholders' expectations," writes Vladimir Dimitrov in an SA article, The Opportunity Behind Unilever's Transformation.