Consumer goods giant Unilever reported a 4.8 per cent jump in third-quarter underlying sales today.
The quarterly sales growth at Anglo-Dutch Unilever - the maker of Sunsilk shampoo, Knorr soups and Ben & Jerry's ice cream - came after 2.9 and 3.9 per cent growth in the first and second quarters, helped by a strong pick-up in Europe.
Analysts said the step-up in sales growth and the easing in input cost inflation, such as for oil, suggested the group was heading in the right direction and helped the shares higher.
The 4.8 per cent sales growth in the July-September quarter was near the top of an analyst forecast range of 3.6 to 5 per cent, with a mean of 4.2 per cent, as the group stuck to its year goal of sustaining sales growth and improving margins.
Unilever shares traded up 3.6 per cent at £13.41 Sterling by 9.45am, the highest riser in the FTSE 100 index, and Unilever NV shares were 3.1 per cent higher at €19.81 after a period of underperformance so far this year.
Heavy spending behind its brands pushed reported operating margins down 0.8 percentage points to 14.8 per cent in the quarter, and underlying margins before one-off items dipped 0.7 percentage points for the quarter.
Advertising and promotions as a percentage of sales rose 0.8 percentage points in the quarter.
Europe, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of group sales, saw a strong pickup with sales up 3.5 per cent in the quarter.