Paul Polman, who succeeded Patrick Cescau as Unilever's CEO last fall, said 2008 was "a reasonably good year ... we have done a lot to prepare for this current crisis." He noted that the company has streamlined its portfolio, divested its U.S. laundry business, sold Bertolli Olive Oil, and closed 12 factories as part of a $1.6 billion restructuring.
"Last quarter has been tough, but it has been tougher for our competitors," he said, adding that net profit--which increased by 51% to $1.53 billion--was driven by price increases of 9%. "We have seen extremely high pricing in last quarter, and that has put some pressure on demand."
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The company is not offering explicit predictions for next year--but Polman, who spoke on a video release after returning from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, conceded that it will not be salubrious. "Davos was like a funeral," he said. "Everyone is depressed and surprised. We see Europe and the U.S. slowing down but showing some growth."
He said Unilever is well-placed to deal with the global recession. "First, you need to have strong brands and products. We have seven out of eleven categories with global market leadership. Our portfolio is well-balanced between food and [home personal care]." He said the latter is slumping in Europe and the U.S., "but food markets are holding up."
The Anglo-Dutch company competes with the likes of Danone and Nestle, which are preparing to report their results this month. Analysts say Polman will push for higher marketing spend.
Unilever CMO Simon Clift has said that the company has no plans to cut European marketing spend, but was mute on the U.S. market. He also said that media pricing is not reflecting the state of the economy.