Unilever 2001 Annual Report Download - page 28

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Unilever Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F 2001
OPERATING REVIEW BY CATEGORY –
HOME & PERSONAL CARE
>25
Report of the Directors
Building on the success of tablets in Europe, we launched
liquid capsules. These provide the convenience and
efficiency of laundry tablets for those consumers who
prefer to use liquid detergents.
We demonstrated the enduring appeal of our laundry
brands in South Latin America, emerging after two years of
intense competition with significantly improved profitability.
We made significant progress in aligning all laundry
detergent and fabric conditioners behind a limited number
of our leading brands, such as Omo, Skip, Surf, Comfort
and Snuggle. We rolled out standardised Omo packaging
and advertising in Latin America, Asia and Pacific, Africa,
Middle East and Turkey. In India, as part of this alignment,
we relaunched the popular Surf brand, investing in an
improved formulation and doubling marketing support.
As part of our strategy of extending our brands, we
extended the Comfort fabric conditioner brand with the
successful launch of Comfort Vaporesse in Europe. Comfort
Vaporesse liquid is poured into the water wells of steam
irons, making fabrics smell fresher and preventing limescale.
We extended the Domestos brand, launching Domestos
Bi-Actif and Domestos WC Active Mousse in Europe and,
in Asia, reaching new consumers with products tailored for
low-income families. Other successes in household cleaning
included further innovations in Cif wipes.
Professional cleaning
In professional cleaning, DiverseyLever enjoyed a strong year
with growth in both sales and operating profit.
In November 2001, we announced that we had agreed to
sell DiverseyLever to Johnson Wax Professional. The sale is
expected to be completed in the first half of 2002.
2000 results compared with 1999
million million million %
2000 at
2000 at constant 1999 Change at
current 1999 at 1999 constant
rates rates rates rates
Total turnover 10 284 9 462 9 126 4%
Total operating profit BEIA 917 856 857 –%
Exceptional items (323) (297) (34)
Amortisation of goodwill
and intangibles (16) (15) (5)
Total operating profit 578 544 818 (34)%
Total operating margin 5.6% 5.8% 9.0%
Total operating margin BEIA 8.9% 9.1% 9.4%
Home care
Excluding acquisitions, overall sales rose by 2% across our
home care business. We performed particularly well in Asia
and Pacific. Our home care operating margin was slightly
down, notably in North America and Latin America.
However, this decline was partly offset by improvements
in margin in Asia and Pacific.
In South Latin America, we were particularly pleased by the
development of our laundry market share, in the face of
intense competition. The investment in defending our
market share was the main factor in the decline in
operating margin in the region.
The principal engine for growth continued to be our ability
to innovate successfully and to extend that innovation
throughout the world. In laundry, we maintained our clear
leadership in tablets. These are now available in more than
30 countries, having been launched in South Africa and
Latin America. The close of the year saw the beginning
of the roll-out in the important North American market
under the Wisk brand. In Europe the second generation
formulation further expanded the market.
2000 also saw the successful roll-out of our Easy Iron
fabric conditioner variant. Based on a patented silicone
formulation, this product is now available throughout
Europe.
Other successes included rapid growth in India with Vim
dishwash bar, which has a formulation relevant to markets
throughout Asia and Africa and the roll-out of Domestos
wipes in Europe. There was good consumer reception for
the novel Refresh/Keep Fresh range of fabric and clothing
fresheners and Cif Oxy-Gel general purpose cleaner, which
was rolled out successfully throughout Europe.
Professional cleaning
DiverseyLever is a provider of cleaning and hygiene
products and services. These are sold to institutional
customers such as hotels, hospitals, laundries and to the
food and beverage industry.
During 2000 we maintained our leadership in Europe
and made progress in improving our performance in North
America. We entered into a strategic global partnership
agreement with ISS, the world’s foremost facility services
provider. We also concluded a series of long-term supply
and service contracts with major international customers.
Implementation of a comprehensive plan for simplifying
the product line, organisation and supply chain across
Europe commenced.
Operations in North America were consolidated under a
common management whose priority is to facilitate the
integration of recent acquisitions.