Unilever 2008 Annual Report Download - page 3

Adding Vitality to Life
Unilever’s mission is to add Vitality to Life.
We meet everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene and personal care with brands
that help people feel good, look good and
get more out of life.
Contents
Report of the Directors
1 Our highlights
2 Our brands and operations
4 Chairman’s statement
6 Chief Executive Officer’s review
8 Unilever Executive
9 Vitality
18 Board of Directors
20 About Unilever
20 Our business and our strategy
20 Key indicators
21 Organisation
22 Operating environment
22 Resources
24 Laws and regulation
25 Outlook and risks
29 Performance review
35 Financial Review
44 Corporate governance
59 Report of the Nomination Committee
60 Report of the Remuneration Committee
74 Report of the Audit Committee
75 Report of the Corporate Responsibility
and Reputation Committee
Financial statements
78 Statement of Directors’ responsibilities
79 Auditors’ reports
81 Consolidated income statement
81 Consolidated statement of recognised
income and expense
82 Consolidated balance sheet
83 Consolidated cash flow statement
84 Notes to the consolidated accounts
137 Financial record
140 Principal group companies and
non-current investments
142 Company accounts
Shareholder information
153 Analysis of shareholding
154 Exchange controls affecting
security holders
155 Nature of the trading market
157 Dividend record
158 Financial calendar
158 Contact details
159 Website
159 Publications
159 Share registration
160 Index
The Unilever Group
Unilever N.V. (NV) is a public limited company registered in the
Netherlands, which has listings of shares and depositary receipts
for shares on Euronext Amsterdam and of New York Registry
Shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Unilever PLC (PLC) is a public limited company registered in
England and Wales which has shares listed on the London Stock
Exchange and, as American Depositary Receipts, on the New
York Stock Exchange.
The two parent companies, NV and PLC, together with their
group companies, operate as a single economic entity (the
Unilever Group, also referred to as Unilever or the Group).
NV and PLC and their group companies constitute a single
reporting entity for the purposes of presenting consolidated
accounts. Accordingly, the accounts of the Unilever Group
are presented by both NV and PLC as their respective
consolidated accounts.
Basis of reporting
Our accounting policies are based on International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union
(EU), and on United Kingdom and Dutch law. They are also in
accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB). Certain measures used in our reporting
are not defined under IFRS or other generally accepted
accounting principles. For further information about these
measures, and the reasons why we believe they are important
for an understanding of the performance of the business,
please refer to the Performance Review on page 29 and the
Financial Review on page 35.
The brand names shown in this report are trademarks owned
by or licensed to companies within the Unilever Group.
Exchange rates
Details of key exchange rates used in preparation of these
accounts are given on page 139, together with Noon Buying
Rates in New York for the equivalent dates.
Forward-looking statements
This document contains certain statements that are neither
reported financial results nor other historical information. These
statements are forward-looking statements, including within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. For a description of factors that could
affect future results, reference should be made to the full
‘Cautionary statement’ on the inside back cover.