Marmite maker Unilever's sales soar after hiking prices

Marmite and Cornetto maker Unilever has reported sales of more than €30bn (£26bn) over six months, based almost entirely on raising its prices.

The consumer goods giant said that across the business, sales as measured by prices grew by 9.4%, but the number of goods that it actually sold fell.

Supermarkets, such as Tesco, have been critical of suppliers lifting their prices amid high inflation.

Unilever said on Tuesday it believes that the peak had now passed.

In its home care division, which includes brands such as Persil, Domestos and Cif, sales rose by 8.4% to €6.2bn.

The number of goods - or volume - that Unilever sold fell by 2.5% in the six months to the end of June but its prices rose by 11.2%.

The Magnum maker saw the same trend in its ice cream business, where the value of sales rose but it was due to price increases as the volume of products it sold fell by 5.2%.

In its other food division, which includes names such as Hellman's, sales rose by 10.4% to €6.6bn. Prices increased by 12.6% but volumes declined by 1.9%.

Its other businesses such as personal care, and beauty and wellness - which includes luxury make-up brands such as Hourglass - saw both prices and volumes rise over the six months.

Food costs have been one of the biggest drivers behind high UK inflation, which measures the pace at which prices are rising.

In the year to June, food and soft drink price inflation slowed to 17.4% but remains close to historically high levels. Overall UK inflation eased to 7.9% in June, said the Office for National Statistics.

Earlier this year, Tesco's former chairman John Allan claimed that it was "entirely possible" that suppliers were taking advantage of poorer households. The Food & Drink Federation denied the claim and said suppliers had seen a "massive" rise in costs.

Supermarkets themselves have faced allegations they have been profiteering. But an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority said it had found no evidence of this but said it was important to keep the market "under review".

Unilever said on Tuesday that it was still operating in a "volatile and high-cost environment".

But its finance chief, Graeme Pitkethly, said: "We're past peak inflation now. Where we're really shifting the business in terms of focus is towards volume growth."

Across the entire business, Unilever said total sales hit €30.4bn and pre-tax profits jumped by 21% to €5.2bn.