Unilever fourth-quarter sales better than expected

Unilever fourth-quarter sales better than expected

Unilever reported a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter sales growth helped by a step-up in emerging markets that saw the consumer goods maker end its tumultuous year on a higher note.

According to a company-supplied consensus, the maker of Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream which spent most of last year reviewing its business after rebuffing a $143 billion takeover bid in February.  

The underlying sales rose 4 percent. Analysts on average were expecting 3.7 percent.

That marks an improvement from 3 percent in the first half and 2.6 percent in the third quarter.