End of road for Unilever's growth path

UNILEVER chairman Antony Burgmans delivered a damning verdict of the food giant's failed Path to Growth today as it rubber-stamped plans for far-reaching corporate overhaul and wrote down the value of its Slim-Fast brand by nearly £450m.

Burgmans, who will become non-executive chairman in a restructuring that makes Patrick Cescau chief executive, admitted the board 'took our eye off our competitiveness, and our execution could have been sharper.

'We let a range of targets limit our flexibility and did not adjust our plans quickly enough to a more difficult business environment.'

Three executive directors are leaving and the group said it would review its dual Anglo-Dutch structure.

{1}The five-year Path to Growth drive launched by former boss Niall FitzGerald stumbled to a close two months ago, and final results today showed pre-tax profits for the 12 months to December tumbled 36% to €2.9bn (£2bn). Turnover across the group slipped 2% to €42bn.

Unilever has suffered from the effects of the Atkins phenomenon on Slim-Fast and increasing competition from Procter & Gamble and Gillette. Burgmans said the priority was now to restore 'sustainable top-line growth'.

Sales of the leading brands were up 3.7% in the final quarter after a sharp rise in advertising and promotional spending. This took sales growth for the year to 0.9% like-for-like.