Ice cream sales boost Unilever before spin-off later in 2025
The consumer goods giant said it is on track to float its ice cream business by mid-November.
Unilever sales grew over the first half of the year on the back of strong gains from its ice cream business, which it is set to spin off later this year.
The consumer goods giant said the ice cream arm, which makes Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Calippo, saw sales rise by 5.9% in the first six months of 2025.
Ice cream sales were driven by a 3.8% increase in the volumes bought by shoppers amid hotter weather, with a 2% boost from higher pricing.
Magnum led the division with double-digit sales growth, while Cornetto grew in the “high” single digits.
The demerger of the business will see it become the Magnum Ice Cream Company and float with a primary listing in Amsterdam.
Unilever said this is on track to complete by mid-November, with the company to retain a minority stake worth less than 20%.
The spin-off is part of efforts by Unilever to move further towards beauty and personal care, with less of a focus on food.
It also sold its Vegetarian Butcher plant-based brand earlier this year and confirmed last month it was exploring the potential sale of its Graze snacking line.
On Thursday, Unilever said revenues in its food range, which includes Hellman’s mayonnaise and Marmite, grew by 2.2% over the half-year.
It said personal care grew by 4.8% and beauty and wellbeing by 3.7%.
It has sought to grow the personal care business further in recent months, with deals to acquire the fast-growing Wild and Dr Squatch brands.
Fernando Fernandez, chief executive, said: “Our continued outperformance in developed markets and the positive impact of our decisive interventions in emerging markets accelerated our growth in the second quarter to 3.8%, with positive volume growth across all business groups.
“Looking ahead, our priorities are clear: more beauty and wellbeing and personal care, disproportionate investment in the US and India, and a sharper focus on premium segments and digital commerce.
“We are building a marketing and sales machine that drives desire at scale in our power brands and ensures execution excellence across all channels to deliver consistent volume growth and gross margin expansion.”
Shares in the company were up 0.6%.