The firm, which had been expecting profits to rise by a little over 10% this year, said it was now forecasting a rise in the "mid-teens".

"Given the strong increase in profitability and whilst retaining the capacity for an increased level of marketing investment... we are raising our outlook for this year's earnings," chairman Niall Fitzgerald said.

The announcement pushed shares in the Anglo-Dutch giant up 11% to 575p in early trade on Wednesday.

By lunchtime, the stock had settled back to 561p, up 44.5p, or 8.6%, on the day.

Key strategy

The figures will also boost faith in the firm's Path to Growth strategy, designed to focus sales around leading brands such as Lipton teas, Dove beauty products, Knorr soups and Magnum ice cream.

The strategy, now at its half-way point, would see 90% of sales coming from the core products by the end of the year, Mr Fitzgerald said.

The brands had shown "great resilience in a tough economic climate", growing sales by 4.5% over the last year, he added.

The performance helped the firm's underlying profits hit 1.08bn euros for the April to June period, 31% higher than a year before.

K-Mart effect

Strong results were achieved in Asia-Pacific markets, where the firm's underlying sales grew by 6% overall during the quarter, and by more than 10% in Japan, Vietnam and China.

In Latin America, underlying sales grew by 12%, despite falling consumer demand in Argentina.

But the collapse of K-Mart, and subsequent store closures, hit trade in the US, where sales of Unilever home products fell by 2.6%.