Food-to-detergents concern Unilever saw sales volumes recover to grow 2% in the second quarter of the year. The company had booked falling volumes in the first quarter.

Announcing its results on Thursday, Unilever said turnover for the second quarter was up 1% to €10.5bn compared to a year earlier. This is slightly lower than analysts expected according to press reports.
Net profit excluding extraordinary items fell 12% to €997m, said Unilever.
In a statement Unilever CEO Paul Polman said: ‘While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions….
‘More of our brands are improving share again behind strong innovations, greater consumer value, increased marketing support and better execution. We continue to focus on restoring volume growth while protecting margins and cash flow for the year as a whole.’