Unilever, the world's third-biggest food and consumer goods group, beat consensus expectations with a 4.1 per cent rise in second-quarter underlying sales and a surprisingly strong return to volume growth.
Its shares rose more than 5 per cent to their highest level in six months.
The maker of Knorr soup, Dove soap and Sunsilk shampoo said today sales rose 2 per cent in the quarter, with all regions seeing growth, as new chief executive Paul Polman's quest for higher volumes started to bear fruit quicker than forecast.
The quarterly sales rise was above a consensus forecast of 3.7 per cent, though within a range of 3 to 5 per cent in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts, and contrasted with falling quarterly sales and volumes from arch-rival Procter & Gamble .
Unilever's London-listed shares jumped 5.4 per cent in early trading to be one of the market's biggest risers. The stock rose as high as £16.37, its highest since February.
"While conditions remain difficult in many markets, I am encouraged by the return to volume growth across all regions and the majority of countries and categories," said Mr Polman.
Finance director Jim Lawrence was cautious about expecting any help from improving economies through the year and said it was up to Unilever to keep the volume progress going.
"It is a difficult economic climate, certainly not positive, even if there is an improvement in economies, consumer spending is likely to be down as unemployment picks up," Mr Lawrence told a results briefing.
Unilever said its brands were gaining market share due to new products, better value, increased marketing and better execution of plans. It said its focus would continue to be on restoring volume growth while protecting margins and cash flow for 2009.
mr Polman, who took the helm in January, has aimed at reviving sales volumes without hitting profit margins after the group's first-quarter 4.8 per cent sales rise came from higher prices while sales volumes declined.
Unilever results come after US-based Procter & Gamble late yesterday showed a fall in underlying April-June quarterly sales of 1 per cent and a drop in volumes of 4 per cent, as consumers moved to cheaper or private-label brands.
Unilever, whose brands also include Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Hellmann's mayonnaise, posted underlying second-quarter earnings per share down 12 per cent at 0.33 cents, in line with forecasts.
Unilever shares have underperformed the FTSE 100 index by 7 per cent but have moved in line with the DJ Stoxx European Food and Beverage Index so far this year, making Unilever trade on 15 times 2009 forecast earnings, similar to P&G and Nestle.
Reuters