Unilever pushed up prices for its products by more than 4 per cent in the third quarter as the global consumer goods group battles with input cost inflation and pressure to revive its languishing share price.

The price rises of 4.1 per cent helped the company, which makes brands including Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Magnum ice cream, to exceed expectations for the three months to September despite falling sales volumes. It reported underlying sales growth of 2.5 per cent and turnover of €13.5bn.

“You can see that we’ve stepped up the pricing,” Graeme Pitkethly, chief financial officer, said. “That’s in response to the really very high levels of inflation that we are seeing. We think that will continue through the end of this year and into next year.”