Unilever’s first-half 2026 results show two different measures for Beauty & Wellbeing: underlying sales growth of 5.9%, but reported turnover growth of 0.3%. The company attributes the gap to currency and other reconciliation items, not to a calculation error. Its results say underlying sales growth excludes currency movements, acquisitions and disposals, and certain extreme price growth in hyperinflationary economies. These are company-reported figures, not an independent estimate of consumer demand.
For the six months ended June 2026, Beauty & Wellbeing turnover was €6.509 billion, compared with €6.489 billion in the comparable 2025 period. Underlying volume growth was 4.5% and underlying price growth was 1.3%. The displayed components are rounded, so they need not add exactly to the reported 5.9% measure.
Read the reported and underlying measures side by side
| Measure | H1 2026 vs H1 2025 | What it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Reported turnover | €6.509bn vs €6.489bn; up 0.3% | How the segment’s reported euro turnover changed. |
| Underlying sales growth (USG) | 5.9% | How sales changed after the company’s stated exclusions. |
| Underlying volume growth (UVG) | 4.5% | A company measure that includes both changes in product quantity and product mix. |
| Underlying price growth (UPG) | 1.3% | The company’s underlying selling-price contribution. |
| Currency-related items in the reconciliation | (6.0)% | The reported bridge includes currency-related effects; the report separately lists the exchange-rate component and extreme-price adjustment. |
| Acquisitions and disposals in the bridge | +0.9% and (0.2)% | Portfolio changes also affect the move from underlying growth to reported turnover. |
The percentages in the reconciliation are not a simple arithmetic bridge. Unilever says the individual components are combined on a compounded basis because currency also affects the other components. So it would be misleading to subtract 6.0 points from 5.9% and call the result reported turnover growth. The release’s reported turnover comparison is 0.3%.
What changed in the second quarter
For April–June 2026, the business group reported 8.1% underlying sales growth, comprising 6.9% underlying volume growth and 1.1% price growth in the published table. Reported second-quarter turnover was €3.403 billion, up 5.7% from €3.219 billion a year earlier. The company attributes the acceleration to its brands and regional performance; this report records that explanation as management’s account.
A stronger quarter does not mean the whole half-year grew at the quarterly rate. The half-year measure includes both quarters. Nor does a 6.9% volume-growth figure establish that physical unit sales rose by precisely 6.9%: Unilever defines underlying volume growth to include product-mix changes as well as quantities.
Which beauty categories and brands did Unilever identify?
The company organizes Beauty & Wellbeing across Hair Care, Skin Care, Prestige Beauty and Health & Wellbeing. In its first-half commentary, Unilever reported high-single-digit Hair Care growth and low-single-digit Skin Care growth. It described Dove, Sunsilk and Vaseline as double-digit, volume-led Power Brand contributors, and said its prestige beauty brands also performed strongly. These statements describe Unilever’s own reporting; the announcement does not provide a numeric revenue contribution for each named brand.
The company also said emerging markets delivered consistent high-single-digit growth for Beauty & Wellbeing in the half, while developed markets accelerated to mid-single-digit growth in the second quarter. This is a broad regional description, not a country-by-country breakdown for the segment. It should not be used to infer a particular brand’s sales in India, China, the United States or any other single market.
What this release does not establish
The report does not give a numeric split showing how much of Beauty & Wellbeing’s volume growth came from more units versus a more favorable product mix. It also does not publish comparable standalone revenue figures for each brand in the segment. That leaves a gap between the group-level growth percentages and the performance of an individual product or market.
Unilever labels underlying sales growth as a non-GAAP measure. It is useful alongside reported turnover because the measures answer different questions, but the adjusted figure should not replace the reported one. The results are unaudited first-half reporting and reflect comparative figures re-presented after the Ice Cream business demerger. A later company release may revise the current-year picture; check the latest investor results before relying on these figures.
Our reading is narrow: the 5.9% underlying figure signals positive like-for-like sales performance under Unilever’s stated method, while the 0.3% reported turnover change shows what reached the segment’s euro turnover line after the listed adjustments. Neither number alone shows market share, profitability by brand, or consumer preference. For related company and brand announcements, browse the site’s Beauty News archive.
Primary sources: Unilever, Q2 2026 Results Full Announcement (28 July 2026), including the first-half segment table and the reconciliation of reported turnover to underlying sales growth; and Unilever Latest Results, checked 4 October 2026. This article summarizes company disclosures and provides no investment recommendation.
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