Good morning.
All eyes are on Unilever this morning, which has released its first set of results since that disastrous £50bn for GSK’s consumer health division.
The main theme is one of input costs, which Unilever predicts will increase by €2bn in the first half of the year and €1.5bn in the second half. As a result, it’s set to raise prices for consumers again.
The Marmite maker will be happy with its 2021 figures, however. Underlying sales rose 4.5pc, thanks largely to increased prices.
In a further bid to keep shareholders happy, Unilever said it’s launching a €4bn share buyback programme and ruled out any major acquisitions in the short term.
5 things to start your day
1) Ageing population will turn Britain’s economy into Germany’s Retirement of baby boomers will cost UK an extra £76bn a year
2) Bank of England must raise rates slowly, top official says Huw Pill says sharp increases to interest rates risk harming economy, despite inflation threat
3) Klarna approaches $60bn valuation with new funding round ‘Buy now, pay later’ company seeks new cash…
