Marmite to Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream maker Unilever has warned price hikes are not likely to peak until at least the second half of 2023. It gave the warning as it said rising manufacturing costs would dent its own profits over the next year.
The consumer goods giant said while inflation is set to ease back towards the end of 2023, price growth will “remain high” in the first half as it still looks to offset an extra 1.5 billion euros (£1.3 billion) of costs over the year. The group reported annual underlying operating profits edging up 0.5% to 9.7 billion euros (£8.6 billion) in 2022, while it saw sales lift 9% as it hiked prices in the face of soaring costs.
Unilever chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly said: “We think we are past the peak of inflation, but not yet past peak pricing. If there’s a peak for pricing, it starts in the second half of this year. We all hope we get there as quickly as possible.”
