Unilever May Permanently Scrap Fiscal Year Sales, Profit Guidance
07 Mai 2009 - 3:08PM
Dow Jones News
Unilever PLC (UN, UL) may permanently abandon the practice of
providing the market with full-year sales and profit guidance, as
it encourages short-term thinking and may hinder the consumer goods
group's long-term prospects, its chief executive said Thursday.
There is an increasing move out of providing sales and profit
guidance, said Paul Polman at a briefing with reporters in London.
"Companies end up chasing short-term objectives when it's not
necessarily in the interests of the company long term."
Unilever scrapped its sales and profit targets in February,
citing the uncertain economy. At the time, analysts assumed the
company would return to providing guidance once clarity had
returned.
However, Polman said Thursday that with salary and bonuses often
dependent on the company reaching its sales and profit guidance,
the issuing of guidance often led to short-term thinking by
management.
-By Michael Carolan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9278;
michael.carolan@dowjones.com