Unilever's FY 2015 Performance Depends On Acquisition Moves In Personal Care, Divestments In Food, Cost Savings

Unilever's revenue performance in fiscal 2015 is expected to be driven by acquisition-pushed growth in the personal care segment, divestments in food business, and cost savings. In 2014, Unilever's revenue dropped 2.7 percent, hampered by significant currency effects and a slowdown in emerging markets. Unilever is not expected to expand its acquisition efforts in the premium personal care market in 2015. Its share of the global skin and hair care is forecast to expand slightly from 10.5 percent in 2014 to 10.7 percent in 2015. With its plan to continue selling off some of its food brands, Unilever's share in the global grocery market is forecast to drop from 41.2 percent to 37.2 percent. Unilever's efforts to cut costs will help improve its overall adjusted EBITDA margin by 1 percentage point to 20.9 percent in 2015.