Unilever
Quarterly dividend E0.285 a share
Unilever is the first big corporate to report figures for 2014 and they do not augur well for other global consumer goods companies, such as Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser.
I have suggested that such businesses should do well out of the low oil price, while this year’s numbers will compare favourably with last year’s, which were affected by the strength of sterling, on a reported basis at least. Low oil prices, in markets such as Japan, Australia or the United States whose economies are not dependent on the stuff, should put money into the pockets of consumers to spend on drinks, personal health products and the like.
Meanwhile, a large chunk of these producers’ costs comes from energy and