Unilever annual profit climbs

British consumer goods group Unilever on Thursday logged a rising net profit in 2021 but warned that soaring inflation will likely ramp up costs again this year.

Profit after tax rose 8.4 per cent to 6.0 billion euros ($6.9 billion) last year compared with 5.6 billion euros in 2020, Unilever said in a statement.

The group, which faced fierce criticism over its failed $50-billion bid for drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline's health care unit, ruled out any major acquisitions and pledged to return 3.0 billion euros to investors via share buybacks.

The producer of food, cleaning and beauty products, including Magnum ice cream, Cif surface cleaner and Dove soap, added that revenues advanced 3.4 per cent to 52.4 billion euros.

"The major challenge of 2021 has been the dramatic rise of input costs," said chief executive Alan Jope, referring to overhead expenses.

"We responded with pricing actions," he added, noting that prices were hiked by 2.9 per cent during the year -- and accelerated to 4.9 per cent in the fourth quarter.