Shares in Magnum Ice Cream Company rose 12 per cent after it said consumers were shifting towards bite-sized and portion-control ice creams, easing fears that weight-loss drugs would put pressure on demand.
The maker of Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s reported that organic sales rose 4.5 per cent in the first quarter, beating analysts’ forecasts for growth of 2.6 per cent.
New products including Magnum and Solero Bon Bons — bite-sized individual ice creams — and Yasso frozen Greek yoghurt offset slower growth in traditional lines such as Ben & Jerry’s.
Investors have feared Magnum, which was spun out of Unilever last year, will be vulnerable to the rise of weight-loss drugs. In response the company has developed portion-control versions of brands and low-calorie and high-protein ice creams.
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However, price growth in the first three months of the year, typically the quietest period for an ice cream maker, was less than expected at 1.6 per cent compared with analysts’ forecasts of 2.3 per cent.
Magnum maintained its forecast that organic sales growth would be between 3 per cent and 5 per cent this year. First-quarter revenues fell 1 per cent to €1.7 billion as it was hit by adverse foreign exchange movements.
Magnum shares rose 12 per cent to €12.50 in Amsterdam trading on Thursday.
Separately, its former parent Unilever also reported better than forecast first-quarter sales as demand for personal care and beauty products remained resilient.
Under chief executive Fernando Fernandez, Unilever is focusing on higher-margin businesses such as beauty, skincare and cleaning products and is shedding lower-margin business such as food that have grown at a slower pace.
A month ago Unilever announced it was combining its food business with US spice and sauce maker McCormick, creating a business with a combined value of nearly $66 billion and annual revenues of $20 billion.
It also cautioned that the disruption from the war in the Middle East would increase Unilever’s cost inflation forecasts for the year to about €750 million-€900 million, compared with its previous estimate of up to €500 million.
Srinivas Phatak, chief financial officer, said the rise “at this stage was manageable” but cautioned Unilever would probably have to raise prices in its home-care division and in emerging markets.
“We’ve been pricing up in small measures without compromising the quality of our business and our performance. And we’ll do it in a manner which is really protecting our business model,” he said.
The group left its forecasts for the year unchanged, guiding that its full-year underlying sales would be at the bottom of a range of 4 to 6 per cent growth. Shares in Unilever rose 1.7 per cent in London to £42.78. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
