PATRICK CESCAU, the newish chief executive of Unilever, said he was encouraged by last week’s third-quarter results — although the City was less impressed and the shares fell 3.4% or 20p (29.6c) on the day.

Underlying sales grew 3.5% in the third quarter, but the operating margin at the consumer-products group — which owns Sunsilk shampoo, Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise — fell 1.4% as Unilever embarked on an expensive splurge of advertising.

It is easy to forget that Unilever was once one of the most solid blue-chips. Today it is, in City parlance, a “turnround story”.

Cescau is undoubtedly an energetic chief executive. Since his appointment in February he has embarked on a world tour of Unilever’s operations. But no matter how much energy Cescau brings to the job he has an awful lot to do.

Not only is he facing a tough consumer market in Europe but many of the group’s brands are underperforming. Not surprisingly Unilever is continuing to lose ground to rivals such as Reckitt Benckiser. Fixing this troubled company is not going to be an overnight job.

Dynamic rider

Simon Cawkwell, the stock-market trader known in market circles as Evil Knievel, is up to his usual tricks at Pursuit Dynamics.

Cawkwell has sold 1m shares in the firm that he does not own — in the belief that he can buy them back more cheaply in the future.

Pursuit Dynamics floated on the Alternative Investment Market in 2001. It hopes to find commercial applications for a technology that uses steam and supersonic shockwaves to pump, heat, mix and process liquids in a device that has no moving parts.

Trials with Coca-Cola and the suggestions that the pump could also be used to separate sand from oil have got investors excited.

In fact Cawkwell was among those who profited as the share price soared from 20p in August 2002 to as high as 265p at the end of September. He owned 750,000 shares in the firm earlier this year.

But Cawkwell has turned bearish and fears that after four years Pursuit Dynamics has little to show for its efforts — apart from combined losses of £7m.

In the year to September 30, 2004, licence sales generated only £150,000 while operating expenses soared to £2.2m. Cawkwell fears that the company will run out of cash.

He is not the only one to be spooked. Since September’s 265p high the shares have been in freefall, closing at 186.5p last week.

John Heathcote, Pursuit Dynamics’ chief executive and founder, insists that Cawkwell is mistaken. The business is on track and making serious progress, he said, and the racy rating just reflects the huge potential of the firm’s revolutionary pump.

Whoever is right, one thing is for certain: shareholders can expect a rollercoaster ride in the coming months.

Wheway ahead

As the City speculates about how chief executive Richard Baker will work with Stefano Pessina, who will be his deputy chairman after the merger of Boots and Alliance Unichem, the ascent of former Tesco director Scott Wheway has been overlooked.

Wheway, a rising star at Tesco before he joined Boots as retail director in October 2004, will join the merged board. Could he be a possible successor to Baker? “He is (Boots chairman) Nigel Rudd’s insurance policy,” said one City adviser, rather unkindly.

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