P&G vs Unilever Executive Summary

Tootsie Roll and Hershey are two similar companies with a similar product offering, but they operate on entirely different scales. In an effort to determine the better investment of the two companies we will utilize multiple financial analysis ratios to gauge the health of the respective companies in terms of liquidity (the ability to pay short-term liabilities and respond to opportunities), solvency (the long-term viability of the company) and profitability (the efficiency at which the can turn it’s resources into profits). However, the snapshot picture of

This is a brief analysis and comparison of select financial ratios of four companies: two in the manufacturing and two in the retail food industries. The financial ratios analyzed are the current ratio, debt ratio, profit margin, return on assets. I should point out that I used the most recent financial reports provided for each company, although in some cases they may not represent the same years. All dollar figures are in thousands.

2. List five examples of products that are commonly purchased as either business products or consumer products. How would the classification impact the marketing strategy? 1. Maintenance people are always going to need things repaired. Some people cannot repair things themselves or do not have the time. This will keep job for people and equipment being bought. 2. Materials people are going to always have a need for raw materials. People will need to produce these items keeping the market moving. 3. Clothing people are always in need of clothing through the season changes as well as the fashion trends. 4. Technology such as phones, cameras, mp3 players. These items are always upgrading and getting a new version. 5. Furniture styles are always changing on these items keeping stylist, builders, and manufactures in business.

The liquidity, profitability, and solvency ratios reveal some interesting points about Kudler Fine Food’s financial position. The liquidity ratios revealed that during 2002 and 2003, Kudler was having no trouble paying short-term debt. However, the current and acid-test (quick) ratios showed that during 2003 Kudler had an excess amount of cash that they were not investing properly. These ratios also showed that Kudler was collecting receivables and selling average inventory very quickly. The profitability ratios revealed that during 2002 and 2003, Kudler was using assets efficiently and making a decent profit. The profit margin ratio showed that during 2002 Kudler made a profit of four cents per dollar, and during 2003 they made a profit

Operation of Unilever around the world starts fragmenting, but Unilever continues to expand globally and investment made in R&D is increased.

Executive Summary.…………………………………………………….…………………………..….2 Which Product and Why?………………………………………………………………………………4 Target Consumer Market…...……………………………………………………………………….…6 Labor Cost, Availability……...…………………………………………………………………………10 Macroeconomic condition………………………………………………………………..………….…12 Technology...………………………………………………………………………………………….…14 Growth...……………………………………………………………………………………………….…15 Key challenges/Risk/Political stability/Corruption...……………………………………………….…16 Logistics……………………………………………………………………………………………….…18 Marketing Channel..………………………………………………………………………………….…19

2-Introduction 2.1-About FMCG Industry Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, which consists of food as well as non-food consumable products. The volume purchased by end users is usually on a small scales and everyday use basis. This industry had suffered immensely during the global financial crises however, most of the companies conquered profitability and sales growth by 2010. These products are mostly available at supermarkets, chain stores, hypermarkets, grocery stores, etc. The

The liquidity, profitability, and solvency ratios reveal some interesting points about Kudler Fine Food’s financial position. The liquidity ratios revealed that during 2002 and 2003, Kudler was having no trouble paying short-term debt. However, the current and acid-test (quick) ratios showed that during 2003 Kudler had an excess amount of cash that they were not investing properly. These ratios also showed that Kudler was collecting receivables and selling average inventory very quickly. The profitability ratios revealed that during 2002 and 2003, Kudler was using assets efficiently and making a decent profit. The profit margin ratio

To make further comment we need to investigate further by looking at industry, competitors and economy. There may be other factors causing this ratio to decrease such as a general decline gross margin profit in retail sector affecting all companies, high inflation causing less demand, increasing competition etc. We should do further investigation to make further comment.

Next is Asset turnover with .55 times which is a measure of the efficiency of asset utilization. Finally the equity multiplier with 2.26 which is a measure of financial leverage of the firm. When compared to the traditional ratios we get similar results; Profit margin 25.44% (27% DuPont) versus 18.75% industry average. Asset turnover is .54 (.55 DuPont) versus .50 industry average. Equity multiplier 2.28 times (2.26 times DuPont) versus 2 times industry average. The results show that the DuPont analysis using ROE as the main determinant are very similar to the regular ratios. Furthermore the ROE of the traditional ratio is 31.32% with DuPont being 33.10% versus the industry average of 18.75% shows that the firms ROE is very robust. While the firm has some challenges with respect to liquidity and inventory management, as well as debt management it still is doing a good job with respect to its shareholders. However it could be doing a little better for the stockholders, and needs to address some of the above issues mentioned.

Despite the inconsistent changes in spending from year to year, P&G’s market share consistently increased between 1% and 2% every twelve months (see Figure 1). The question is, with Unilever’s actions in regards to marketing expenditures, is the 15% increase going to be enough to restart P&G’s upward growth of market share?

This shows that the growth of the gross profit was higher in relation to the growth of sales revenue within that period. In comparison Sainsbury has an even lower gross profit margin what could be explained through higher costs of goods sold.

In 2009, the operating profit was 3.56% which was slightly above than the previous year. After deducting all the expenses, the left amount is the net profit and the proportion of net profit in respect to total revenue is the net profit margin. Sainsbury’s net profit margin for the years 2009, 2008 and 2007 were 1.53%, 1.84% and 1.89% respectively. The management thinks that the tough market condition and the other competitors with very cheap pricing have pushed them to squeeze their profit margin ratio. The graph below shows the Return on Capital Employed as well. The ROCE gives the idea about how much return a company is making on its used capital. (investorwords.com) The ROCE for the company was 9.46%, 7.10% and 7.59% for the years 2009, 2008 and 2007 respectively. The year 2009 proved to be a little bit more in context of return on capital employed.

– Current market situation: detailed consumer and business market segmentation and analysis of market drivers will be undertaken to identify the most valuable

P&G is now one of the ten most valuable companies in the United States. During Mr. Lafley’s watch since the year 2000, sales have grown to more than $80B in 2008, from less than $40B when he took over, and earnings have tripled, topping $10B in 2007. The company has 24 brands generating more than $1B each, more than twice the number in 2000. And that number is likely to increase with close to 20 more brands with sales greater than $500M and growing. P&G’s stock, which was trading at about $28 per share when Mr. Lafley took over, now exceeds $70.