Unilever Reports 36 Percent Fall In Q3 Profit

TOBY STERLING

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Unilever NV, maker of Dove soaps and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, saw net profit fall 36 percent for the third quarter, mostly because earnings in the same period a year ago benefited from the sale of operations.

The consumer goods giant made €1.05 billion ($1.56 billion), down from €1.64 billion in the same period last year, when Unilever booked a €487 million gain on the sale of its seasonings businesses.

Revenues were down 1.9 percent to €10.2 billion.

Despite the fall in profit, Chief Executive Paul Polman said the results showed "good progress across all regions and the majority of countries and categories" when compared with the second quarter.

During the global recession the company was forced to cut prices and sacrifice margin to keep customers. However, Unilever said its margins improved in the third quarter from the second quarter.

"Savings programs are delivering strongly and we are seeing the benefits," the company said.