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Ch 5 · The Story Behind the Numbers
Chapter 5 · Behind the Numbers
The numbers, in the company's own words.
Every annual report has a section where management explains what just happened — and why. Here's Unilever's FY2025.
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✦ The bottom line
Anyone can read the turnover line. The story — why it moved, what's changing, what's coming next — is the part Unilever writes itself, in its annual report. Here are the threads that matter.
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✦ Seven threads from the FY2025 annual report
1
Reported sales fell — but that's the currency talking.
Turnover dropped 3.8% to €50.5B, yet underlying sales grew 3.5%. The gap is a strong euro plus the ice-cream exit. Reading reported vs. underlying side by side is the single most useful skill for a global company like this.
2
They sold the ice cream.
On 6 December 2025, Unilever completed the demerger of its entire ice-cream business — Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, Wall's — into The Magnum Ice Cream Company, now a separately listed company. In the accounts, ice cream is treated as discontinued operations: carved out so you can see the slimmer Unilever that remains.
3
A few brands are doing the work.
Power Brands — Unilever's biggest names — now make up 78% of turnover and grew 4.3%, faster than the group. The deliberate strategy: concentrate firepower on the winners.
4
Margins are climbing as it simplifies.
Underlying operating margin rose 60 basis points to 20.0%, helped by a company-wide productivity programme launched in 2024. Leaner operations are showing up directly in profitability.
5
The cash quality is excellent.
Free cash flow was €5.9B at 100% cash conversion — essentially every euro of profit became real cash. High-quality earnings, not accounting optimism.
6
New leadership, in a hurry.
Fernando Fernandez became CEO in March 2025 with activist Nelson Peltz on the board. Management reaffirmed a multi-year ambition of 4–6% underlying sales growth — notably above the 3.5% just delivered. The bar is set higher than the current pace.
7
It's a euro company in a dollar world.
Because Unilever reports in euros but earns globally, a strong euro shaved several points off reported results this year. It's a recurring feature of investing in a foreign company — the currency adds a layer between the business and the headline.
Source · 20-F · Strategic Report + Financial Review · FY2025 · Filed Mar 12, 2026
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Read the whole story
Seven threads: a currency-masked headline, the ice-cream exit, focused brands, rising margins, strong cash, a new CEO, and a growth bar set higher than today's pace.
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Chapter 5 · BEHIND THE NUMBERS
The Story Behind the Numbers
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