LONDON: Unilever on Thursday reported fourth-quarter underlying sales growth of 4.9%, as people ate more at home, the first results from the maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice cream since its failed bid for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business.

The consumer goods group said it expects underlying sales growth in 2022 to be in a range of 4.5% to 6.5%.

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Pricing will continue to be strong, with some impact on volume as a result, the company said.

Analysts had estimated that Unilever would post quarterly underlying sales growth of 3.8%, according to company-supplied estimates.