Unilever Profits

THE international combine known as Unilever apparently came through the war unscathed and is continuing its international activities as happily as it did in the halcyon period between the wars.

Unilever affairs are of great interest in all the lands where the coconut palm grows because, before World War 11, Uni lever was the primary factor in fixing the world price of copra. It could do this because its international character allowed it to do what it wished with the vegetable and animal oil markets. It was singularly successful in playing one kind of oil against another, so that the prices of all were maintained at a level which suited Unilever. Since the war, as the result of various kinds of governmental controls, Unilever has not exercised the same power over the markets—although its influence still is very great.

It was announced, in July, that during the year the consolidated profits of Lever Bros, and Unilever, Ltd., soap and mar garine manufacturers, in Britain, were £7,161,505 Sterling—which was no less than £1,874,687 higher than the previous year.

The consolidated profits of the Dutch section of the combine were over 35,000,000 florins, which was nearly 1,000,000 florins bigger than the previous year.

The combine has branches in other countries as well.

Viscount Leverhulme, governor of Lever Brothers and Unilever, Ltd. (who died recently in the USA, on his way home from Australia) left an estate of a gross value of £2,357,039. Net personalty was £2,199,548. Estate duty paid amounts to £1,656,479.