Unilever fourth quarter sales grow 7.8 percent

(AP) Unilever PLC, the maker of consumer products such as Dove soaps and Magnum ice cream, says sales grew 7.8 percent to 12.6 billion ($16.8 billion) for the fourth quarter on growth in developing markets more than half the company's sales in 2012 came from outside mature economies.

Along with a fourth quarter trading update, the company reported full year net profit was up 4.5 percent to 4.25 billion, on sales that were up 10.5 percent to 51.3 billion. The company said Wednesday it improved full year profit margins despite higher commodity costs, by hiking prices, cutting costs, and selling more higher-margin products.

Sales growth clearly showed the skew between economies, with fourth quarter growth of 11 percent in developing countries, compared to 4 percent in mature economies.