Dive Brief:
- Unilever said revenue in the first quarter fell 6.3% to $15.8 billion. The company cited currency problems from developing markets for the decline.
- Adjusting for currency issues, the consumer-packaged goods company posted a rise in revenue of 3.6%.
- Performance in North America was poor. And the company's food units, which include Hellmann's mayonnaise and Knorr soups, were the worst-performing.
Dive Insight:
With numbers such as these, it's no wonder that Unilever is so anxious to unload underperforming and noncore units, particularly in the United States.
The problem is that no one appears anxious to take those brand off Unilever's hands. The most obvious example of this is Slim-Fast, which Unilever reportedly has been shopping around all quarter.
So it's no surprise that Unilever said yesterday it would begin a strategic review of Slim-Fast and its ailing Ragu pasta sauce brand.