The ratings on Unilever reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of its "excellent" business risk profile as one of the world's largest and most diversified operators in the consumer products sector, as well as its moderate financial policy. We qualify Unilever's financial risk profile as "intermediate" under our criteria, reflecting equally the group's cash generation and financial policy. The group's strength and diversity of brands, stable market shares, and broad geographic reach contribute strongly to our business risk assessment, because these are in our view the most relevant factors for branded noncyclical consumer goods producers. On this basis, our assessment of the Unilever group's business risk profile as excellent takes into account the group's track record of innovation, brand
