Unilever Trims Sales Growth Forecast

Unilever, the world’s largest maker of food and soap, trimmed its full-year sales forecast after revenue failed to pick up in the second quarter. The stock posted its biggest drop in three years.

The British-Dutch company expects sales of its 400 top brands such as Knorr soup to grow about 4% this year, down from its previous expectation of 5% to 6%, Unilever said. Earnings still should rise by at least 10% for the year, the company said.

Unilever, based in London and Rotterdam, is a year away from ending a program to shed 1,200 brands and 33,000 jobs.