Unilever 2009 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Financial
3.5%
underlying sales growth
• Underlying volume growth of 2.3% accelerating
through the year
• Turnover of €39.8 billion
• Underlying operating margin† up from 14.6% to 14.8%
• Cash ow from operating activities up by €1.4 billion
• Total shareholder return ranking up from 9th to 5th
• Earnings per share of €1.21
• First quarterly dividend of €0.195 payable March 2010
• Selective acquisitions including TIGI and Baltimor
Report of the Directors Overview
p16
In 2009 we made good progress in challenging market conditions. Volumes
picked up and market shares improved through the year. Our solid financial
performance along with bigger innovations, better execution and a move to
a stronger performance culture give us a firm foundation for the future.
Operational highlights
Key facts
Leading global positions in 7 categories
Products sold in more than 170 countries
€891m spent on R&D worldwide
163,000 employees at the end of 2009
20 nationalities among our top tier managers
€89m invested in community
programmes worldwide
Case study: TIGI
The cutting edge
The purchase of professional hair products business TIGI
marked a return to strategic acquisitions, further strengthening
our brand portfolio.
The TIGI range, including
Catwalk, S-Factor and Bed
Head, is a premium salon
range that complements
our existing daily hair care
products. Its strength in
styling and its fashion and
beauty expertise will also
help fuel innovation for
our existing hair brands.
The Unilever Group
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving
consumer goods. We aim to meet everyday consumer needs for
nutrition, hygiene and personal care with brands and services
that help people to feel good, look good and get more out
of life. Unilever is a global business which by the end of the year
was generating more than half of its turnover in developing and
emerging markets in Asia, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe
and Latin America.
Unilever N.V. (NV) is a public limited company registered in the
Netherlands. It 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. It 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.
† Underlying operating margin
is operating margin excluding
the impact of RDIs (restructuring,
business disposals and other
one-off items, see page 46).
2 Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2009