The Motley Fool Take Growth at Unilever

Unilever (NYSE: UL) recently reported surprisingly strong first-quarter results. Net sales in euros rose 5.7 percent, excluding the effects of currency and business disposals. This unit-volume growth pleasantly surprised analysts, who had been expecting only about 4 percent. Nearly all the increase was driven by higher unit volume, while only 0.8 percent came from pricing. Unilever is starting to experience benefits from a renewed focus on new-product innovation.

More impressive still, the company delivered its unit growth on the same advertising expense as during the previous year. Several U.S. consumer-products companies are raising their ad spending considerably to drive market-share increases.

Unilever's operating profit margin jumped nearly half a percentage point, while higher commodity costs (which all consumer-goods companies are grappling with) were more than offset by supply-chain expense savings and volume leverage.

Unilever pays a dividend slightly north of 4 percent and has appreciated at a compound annual rate of 15 percent over nearly 50 years.

As you think about how best to position your portfolio over the next few years, consider Unilever as a potential core holding. A company with powerful worldwide brands such as Lipton, Wish-Bone, Slim-Fast, Hellmann's, Dove and Vaseline could be a solid place to park some of your precious portfolio.