Unilever 2003 Annual Report Download - page 47

44 Unilever Annual Report & Accounts and Form 20-F 2003
Operating review by category – Home & Personal Care
Personal care (continued)
2002 results compared with 2001 € million € million € million € million % %
Exchange Change at Change at
2002 at rate 2002 at 2001 at actual constant
2001 rates effects 2002 rates 2001 rates current rates 2001 rates
Group turnover 13 265 (1 029) 12 236 12 307 (1)% 8%
Group operating profit 2 235 (190) 2 045 2 135 (4)% 5%
Turnover 13 273 (1 028) 12 245 12 310 (1)% 8%
Operating profit BEIA 2 416 (206) 2 210 2 194 1% 10%
Exceptional items (166) 17 (149) (46)
Amortisation – goodwill and intangible assets (12) (1) (13) (11)
Operating profit 2 238 (190) 2 048 2 137 (4)% 5%
Operating margin 16.9% 16.7% 17.4%
Operating margin BEIA 18.2% 18.1% 17.8%
Turnover and underlying sales growth 2002
(at constant 2001 rates) vs 2001
Underlying sales growth (%) 9.0
Effect of acquisitions (%) –
Effect of disposals (%) (1.1)
Turnover growth (%) 7.8
Turnover fell by 1% at current rates of exchange, with currency
movements contributing a 9% decline. Operating profit fell by
4% and operating profit BEIA rose by 1%, with currency
movements contributing reductions of 9% in both cases. The
underlying performance of the business after eliminating these
exchange translation effects is discussed below at constant
exchange rates.
Our leading brands, which include Axe, Dove, Lux, Pond’s,
Rexona, Signal and Sunsilk saw underlying sales growth of 10%
in 2002. Turnover rose by 8%, with operating margin BEIA
increasing to 18.2%.
From New York to New Delhi, image and beauty are important to
millions of people. To meet their desire for attractive, healthy hair
we continued to focus on Dove and Sunsilk during 2002.
The Dove hair range reached the number one position in its initial
launch market of Korea and Taiwan and number two in Japan,
where it was launched in 2001. During the year, we rolled out
Dove shampoo and conditioners across more than 30 countries
in Europe, Latin America and South East Asia.
In 2002, the underlying sales growth of Sunsilk was strong, with
good performances in Brazil and Mexico and new market entries
in Algeria and Central America. In Ghana and South Africa we
launched our new Afro Hair range. We further drove the growth
of Sunsilk with the launch of new products, such as permanent
colourant Pro-Color in Argentina and Brazil.
In Canada, we are migrating Pears to the highly successful North
American brand Suave.
Washing away the everyday grime that builds up on skin is a daily
ritual for countless people. In Brazil, although around 70 million
consumers have black or mulatto skin, there had never been
a mass-market soap specially designed for them. To meet their
aspirations we launched a Lux variant specifically for this skin type
during 2002.
In 2002, the growth of Axe was 17%, driven by powerful
innovation in the core body spray range, including the launch
of a new longer-lasting 24-hour formulation. We launched Axe
in North America with a campaign targeting young men between
14 and 24 – a group that spends around $8 billion a year on
personal grooming products.
Rexona enjoyed strong growth with the best performance coming
from our antiperspirant deodorant for men. Rexona for Men grew
by 30% in the core regions of Europe and Latin America.
A clean, bright smile can say more than words, whatever
language you speak. In 2002, we sought to reinforce the strength
of our Signal brand through a strong competitive position in the
electric toothbrush market. We launched the first electric
toothbrush to offer the choice of two heads – for cleaning
and whitening.