Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever beat forecasts with a 25 per cent jump in first-quarter earnings, and further signs of a turnaround from a disastrous 2004 pushed its shares higher yesterday.

Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Knorr soups and Lipton tea, posted its second quarter of sales growth and an increase in profit margins.

The Slim.Fast diet foods and Sunsilk shampoo group warned that, while European trading would stay very tough this year, the outlook was better in the developing and emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

After a wide-ranging management shake-up, the group posted earnings per Unilever share of €0.96 compared with analysts' forecasts of €0.71 to €0.76 a share, with net profits up 24 per cent to €934 million.

The world's third-biggest food group and one of the top makers of soaps and detergents is trying to reignite sales growth after a dismal 2004 when it gave its first profit warning in a 76-year history last September, and gave up sales and earnings targets.

"Unilever turned the corner in September, and the new management is getting the group back on track," said industry analyst David Lang at Investec Securities.

The group reported sales up 2.3 per cent overall at €9.27 billion.

Underlying sales jumped 6 per cent, but four percentage points of that rise were because there were five more days in the first quarter than in the same quarter a year ago.

"Unilever's results weren't as bad as some had expected, and that's a good performance," said asset manager Lex Werkheim at Dutch broker Eureffect.

"The results were flattered by a number of items such as the number of trading days, disposals and tax rates.

"If you take those out, the figures are still better than expected, although not as good as the first impression," he added.