Unilever, the maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice-cream, confirmed yesterday that it was considering the sale of its Bertolli olive oil business as it reported a 7.2 per cent rise in first-quarter sales.

The Anglo-Dutch group, the world’s third-largest maker of consumer goods, is considering several strategic options for its Bertolli range of oils, including a sale, according to Jim Lawrence, the group finance director.

The Bertolli brand has annual sales of about £235 million and could raise several hundred million euros for Unilever. A spokesman for the group said that it would want to retain brand rights as it also sells other Bertolli products, including pasta sauces.

If sold, Bertolli, the world’s leading olive oil brand, with products sold in more than 50 countries, would be the latest in a string of disposals by Unilever, which is seeking to simplify its range of products as part of a restructuring drive.

Last August, Unilever said it wanted to sell businesses with total annual turnover of more than €2 billion (£1.6 billion), including its North American laundry business, which generates €800 million of sales a year.

The group has already sold its Boursin French cheese business and has agreed to sell Lawry’s, its American marinades and spices business. They each have about €100 million of annual sales.

Unilever yesterday also raised hopes that a long-standing turnaround plan was starting to bring rewards as it reported that turnover rose 6 per cent to €9.57 billion.

It said the results had been boosted by strong sales of tea, ice-cream and laundry products. Sales growth in Russia, Mexico, Brazil and the UK were particularly strong, the company said.

Patrick Cescau, the chief executive, shrugged off concerns about a global economic slowdown, saying there had been a good start to the year, with underlying growth across categories.

Pretax profits rose by 39 per cent, to €1.78 billion. Net profit also rose 39 per cent, to €1.41 billion, although the figures were distorted by €517 million of proceeds from the sale of Boursin and the extension of the Pepsi/Lipton joint venture for ready-to-drink tea.

Graham Jones, analyst for Panmure Gordon, said the results were better than expected. The growth in sales had been achieved by raising prices without affecting overall volumes, he said.

Unilever achieved a 0.30 percentage point improvement in its operating margin, exceeding expectations of 0.20 percentage points, despite an increase of €400 million, or 4.2 per cent, in commodity costs during the quarter. The company indicated that it expects an underlying improvement in operating margin across the full year “despite challenging conditions”.

Unilever’s 7.2 per cent growth in sales lags behind European rivals such as Nestlé, of Switzerland, which reported a 9.8 per cent increase, and Danone, of France with 11.4 per cent.

Unilever has been battling to implement cost cuts and has shed tens of thousands of jobs in an effort to reform a convoluted management structure.

The company formerly featured two chairman-chief executives, three executive committees and often three or more subsidiaries in each country in which it operated.

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