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36 Unilever Annual Review 1998 Categories
Turnover £ million
5 980
94
Operating profit £ million
457
94
6 369
95
396
95
6 353
96
564
96
5 559
97
307
97
5 154
98
448
98
Foods
Oil and dairy based foods and bakery
£ million 1998 1998 1997 Change
at current at constant at constant
rates rates rates
Turnover 5 154 5 404 5 559 (3)%
Operating profit 448 471 307 53%
Operating profit before exceptional items 495 518 535 (3)%
Globally, oil and dairy based foods and bakery turnover was down
slightly, mainly due to disposals, with underlying volume staying flat.
Oil and dairy based foods We increased margarine market share in
North America, via innovative products such as Brummel & Brown, our
new low-fat yoghurt-based spread. We also made share gains in Western
Europe, where the initial roll-out of our olive oil-based range – sold
under the Olivio and Bertolli brands – has been successful. Our wellestablished
health-focused brands, such as Flora and Becel,
remained strong.
Through much of Central and Eastern Europe, consumers continued
buying our margarine at the same levels as in 1997, despite regional
economic difficulties. Rama Máslová in the Czech Republic and
Jogurtowa in Poland, which we developed specifically for local tastes,
enjoyed successful launches. In Russia, our market leader Rama started
the year extremely positively but sales fell sharply after the economic
crisis intensified in August.
Our olive oil businesses in Italy and France did well, but in Spain
we had another difficult year due to the competitive market place.
During 1998, we announced plans to market a new cholesterollowering
spread, based on natural plant sterols. We expect to launch
this product in North America and Europe in 1999. In Europe, we are
in the process of obtaining approval for this product from regulatory
authorities.
Bakery To achieve greater focus in our European baking sector, we
integrated three businesses into Bakery Europe. Our speciality bakery
products, such as Maison du Pain, are proving increasingly popular
with consumers.