Unilever chooses Amsterdam stock exchange for primary listing of ice cream division

Anglo-Dutch consumer goods maker Unilever Plc is separating its ice cream division, choosing the Amsterdam stock exchange for its primary listing, a blow to British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who is pushing to attract IPOs to London, according to Reuters.

Unilever made the listing announcement alongside its annual results. The company also announced a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) share buyback program.

In the meantime, Unilever shares fell nearly 7 percent on the London Stock Exchange, where the group has its main listing, wiping about 8.5 billion pounds off its market value. The decline was also driven by Unilever's announcement that it expects a slower start to 2025 due to weak near-term market growth.

Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher proposed cost-cutting measures last year, including spinning off the ice cream business into a spin-off and cutting thousands of jobs after years of poor performance. The ice cream business will remain based in Amsterdam. The company said Jean-Francois van Boxmeer had been appointed chairman of the separate ice cream business.

The ice cream business, which includes the Magnum and Wall brands, will have secondary listings on the London and New York stock exchanges. The business generated revenue of 8.3 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in 2024.

It is worth noting that British Minister Reeves met with Unilever executives in September last year, and the official meeting record describes the meeting as a discussion of investment in the UK, capital markets and reforms. Reeves' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters after the company's decision yesterday.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Britain still had work to do to attract listings, in addition to last year's reforms and other measures taken by the London Stock Exchange. Britain is still hoping to attract Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein, which Reuters reported would list on the British market in an offer that would value it at $50 billion.

In the Netherlands, Dirk Beljaarts, the economy minister, said: "Unilever's decision confirmed the company's confidence in the Netherlands and underlines the competitiveness and attractiveness of our business climate."

Unilever reported a 4% rise in its core sales yesterday, below analysts' expectations. For the full year, the company is forecasting sales growth of 3% to 5%.

Underlying operating profit was euro11.2 billion in 2024, up 12.6% from 2023. Turnover rose 1.9% to euro60.8 billion.

Hein Schumacher said: "The results achieved in 2024 reflect a year of significant activity as we focused on transforming Unilever into a consistently performing business."