Unilever's Premium Skincare Play Could Improve Margins And Valuation

Industry analysts Trefis believes that Unilever’s move into premium skincare, through a number of acquisitions, will help the company improve its EBITDA margins from a relatively low 18 percent to something closer to those generated by industry rivals. Trefis says that Unilever’s margins have been held down by relatively high marketing costs as a percentage of revenues; a reliance on mass, low-margin products; and increasing costs of raw materials, exacerbated by the impact of Brexit on sterling. A higher-margin, more premium-oriented portfolio will help address some of the pressures, supported by expected growth in the premium skin care segment and Unilever’s attack on costs from adoption of Zero Based Budgeting. Trefis believes Unilever could push up EBITDA margins to around 25 percent within a few years and the company’s valuation could improve by over 20 percent.