Emerging markets driver for Unilever

Consumer goods giant Unilever said strong sales in emerging markets such as China and India had cushioned the blow of soaring commodity prices.

The world's third-largest maker of branded household products said raw material costs - such as corn, palm oil and soya beans - caused operating margins to drop in the final three months of last year.

But price pressures failed to stop profit growth, as Unilever posted full-year pre-tax profits of €6.1 billion (5.2bn) in the year to December, an 18 per cent increase on the previous year.