Unilever expects higher sales

Unilever expects higher sales

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones): Unilever NV, the Anglo-Dutch consumer group, expects its sales and margins to improve in Asia due to the faster-than-expected economic recovery in the region, a top executive said Tuesday.

Andre van Heemstra, the group's president for East Asia Pacific, said that interest rates, inflation and exchange rates across the region have been better than the company had earlier forecast.

The group's turnover from the region in 1998 fell 18 percent from 1997, while its operating profit dropped 19 percent. Asia Pacific contributed 14 percent of the turnover and 10 percent of Unilever's operating profit in 1998.

He said he was encouraged by signs of recovery in Indonesia and excited about prospects in Vietnam, where the company began its operations in 1995.

Sales of Unilever's personal care products, such as shampoos and skin care products, will improve in markets like Indonesia's, where lower growth has hurt a large consumer base, van Heemstra said.