Consumer goods giant, Unilever, has reported a modest rise in sales for 2019 and is cautiously confident for 2020.

The company, which owns the ice cream factory in Barnwood, recorded a sales growth of 2.9 per cent last year, but a fall in profit of 38.4 per cent, mainly due to the sale of its margarine and spreads business.

Home care, which includes cleaning brands such as Cif was Unilever's biggest winner, with sales up by 6.1 per cent. Deodorants were another big winner for the company, supported by double digit growth from Dove. Dove's growth was supported by microbiome-friendly innovations.

While food and refreshment sales were up by 1.5 per cent, ice cream sales were down slightly, due to a particularly good European summer in 2018. Ice cream growth was supported by plant-based and healthier products, including Magnum vegan and Ben & Jerry's lighter Moophoria variants.

Alan Jope, Unilever chief executive, said: "Overall growth was slightly below our guided range for the year due to the slowdown we saw in the fourth quarter.

"In 2020, our underlying sales growth is expected to be in the lower half of the three to five per cent range. While we expect an improvement from the fourth quarter of 2019 into the first half of 2020, first half underlying sales growth will be below three per cent. The impact of the coronavirus outbreak is unknown at this time. As we near the completion of our three-year strategic plan, we expect continued improvement in underlying operating margin and another year of strong free cash flow, remaining on track for our 2020 goals."