Unilever, the maker of popular brands like Magnum and Marmite, reported a significant increase in profits over the first half of this year, primarily driven by higher prices. The consumer goods

giant saw a 21% rise in pre-tax profits to €3.9 billion (£3.34 billion), despite a decline in the number of goods sold.

While many supermarkets, including Tesco, criticized suppliers for raising prices amid high inflation, Unilever's CEO, Hein Schumacher, asserted that they had not passed on higher costs to customers. He expressed his belief that inflation had peaked and expected it to moderate by the end of the year, resulting in more balanced pricing.

Some trade unions, such as Unite, accused Unilever of "greedflation," attributing the profit surge to inflated prices without a significant increase in sales volume. However, Mr. Schumacher refuted this claim, stating that Unilever had absorbed higher costs through lower profit margins.

Despite lower margins compared to pre-pandemic levels, Unilever's profit margin increased slightly to 17.1% in the first half of this year. The company's profit boost was attributed to higher prices rather than an increase in sales volume.

Unilever's total turnover rose by 2.7% to €30.4 billion, with the personal care and beauty divisions experiencing volume growth during the six-month period. Food costs have been a major driver of high inflation in the UK, which remained close to historically high levels despite a slowdown in food and soft drink price inflation. Photo by Marife.altabano, Wikimedia commons.