Unilever, the name behind some of the best-known brands on supermarket shelves, has suffered a 32% fall in pre-tax profits in the July to September period.

The Anglo-Dutch giant, which makes Flora margarine, Persil detergent and Dove soap, said the conditions facing its business had become "more challenging".

But chairman Niall Fitzgerald stressed: "We remain confident of achieving our targets".

Unilever had prepared the market for a weakened performance in its autumn trading statement.

Core profits healthy

Analysts were heartened that the firm's underlying profits - without restructuring costs from buying US food giant Best Foods last year - beat expectations, up 5%.

"In the light of the concerns after the events of September 11, this is a surprisingly strong set of numbers and will support the shares," said a London-based fund manager.

Furthermore, margins outperformed the firm's own targets, pushing up the shares in both London and Amsterdam.

"The efficiency of the company is progressing as is the integration of Best Foods. Although it's one of the most efficient food companies, it's still one of the cheapest," said Krijn Moens of Dutch find manager Eureffect.

Lead brands grow

Total sales rose 13% to 13.15bn euros, while sales of leading brands rose 5.3%.

Unilever has been slashing its brand portfolio to about a quarter of its original size to allow it focus on a smaller, stronger stable of about 400 names.

Unilever said it had strong underlying growth in the food businesses - with improved performances from European ice-cream operations and Ready-to-Drink Tea.

The home and personal care operations had good sales in Europe, North America and East Asia, it said.

Emerging markets slow

But these strong performances were partly offset by a slowdown in some emerging markets and a decline in the Prestige Fragrances business.

Pretax profit slipped 32% to 1.014bn euros (�623.6m) compared with the same three months of last year because of the cost of restructuring and acquisitions.

In its autumn statement, Unilever set a target for the full year of "low double-digit growth" in earnings per share before exceptional items.