Unilever’s Irish subsidiary sees profits half to €6.36m in 2021

Unilever Ireland, the Irish subsidiary of the consumer goods giant, made a profit after tax of almost €6.36 million last year, less than half the figure of €13.8 million recorded the previous year.

Sales as the business behind Knorr soup, Magnum ice-cream and Dove soap fell 8.6 per cent to €197.5 million in 2021, down €18.6 million on its revenues during 2020, when grocery sales had a bumper year due to Covid-19 lockdowns.

Unilever’s portfolio includes a number of “treat” brands, such as Ben & Jerry’s and Cornetto, as well as household cleaning ranges such as Cif and Domestos, that are likely to have performed especially well at the start of the pandemic, although the British company, which also sells Sure deodorant, said at the time that deodorant sales fell during months when people were not socialising.

The directors of the company said the financial performance of the Irish subsidiary was in line with expectations. No dividend was declared.

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Unilever Ireland employed an average of 95 people during 2021, with 81 of these involved in marketing, selling and distribution. The total was up from an average of 90 employees the previous year. Its pretax profit arrived at €7.67 million, down from almost €16.2 million in 2020.

In January 2022 its parent company announced structural changes that will see it organised around five category-focused business groups: beauty & wellbeing, personal care, home care, nutrition and ice-cream. This new structure is operational with effect from July.

Unilever agreed to sell its global tea business, Ekaterra, to CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII in November 2021, with the deal completed in June this year.

The company’s brands also include Colman’s mustard, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Persil detergent and Vaseline.