Earlier this year it rebuffed an offer of $143 billion from
Kraft-Heinz and promised shareholders improvements.
The margarine division includes Country Crock and I Can’t
Believe It’s Not Butter. Sales in developed countries have been in decline, but
continue to increase in developing countries.
Sales in that division were about three billion Euros last
year.
The company is also buying back $5.3 billion worth of shares
and is increasing its dividend by 12 per cent.
Chief executive officer Paul Polman was featured in a
Fortune magazine article earlier this year which highlighted his pursuit of addressing climate change, food waste and poverty.
He has done that at the expense of short-term profits, but
said it positions the company for long-term success.
Unilever is based in the United Kingdom and has Dutch roots.
It is one of the world’s largest food companies.
