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Segment Information | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2020
Text Block [Abstract] |
Segment Information | 2. Segment information
Segmental reporting |  |
Beauty & Personal Care |  | •  primarily sales of skin cleansing (soap, shower), hair care (shampoo, conditioner, styling), skin care (face, hand and body moisturisers) and deodorants categories.
Foods & Refreshment |  | •  primarily sales of ice cream, savoury (soups, bouillons, seasoning), dressings (mayonnaise, ketchup) and tea categories.
Home Care |  | •  primarily sales of fabric category (washing powders and liquids, rinse conditioners) and includes a wide range of cleaning products.
Revenue Turnover comprises sales of goods after the deduction of discounts, sales taxes and estimated returns. It does not include sales between group companies. Discounts given by Unilever include rebates, price reductions and incentives given to customers, promotional couponing and trade communication costs and are based on the contractual arrangements with each customer. Discounts can either be immediately deducted from the sales value on the invoice or off-invoice and settled later through credit notes when the precise amounts are known. Rebates are generally off-invoice. Amounts provided for discounts at the end of a period require estimation; historical data and accumulated experience is used to estimate the provision using the most likely amount method and in most instances the discount can be estimated using known facts with a high level of accuracy. Any differences between actual amounts settled and the amounts provided are not material and recognised in the subsequent reporting period. Customer contracts generally contain a single performance obligation and turnover is recognised when control of the products being sold has transferred to our customer as there are no longer any unfulfilled obligations to the customer. This is generally on delivery to the customer but depending on individual customer terms, this can be at the time of dispatch, delivery or upon formal customer acceptance. This is considered the appropriate point where the performance obligations in our contracts are satisfied as Unilever no longer has control over the inventory. Our customers have the contractual right to return goods only when authorised by Unilever. At 31 December 2020, an estimate has been made of goods that will be returned and a liability has been recognised for this amount. An asset has also been recorded for the corresponding inventory that is estimated to return to Unilever using a best estimate based on accumulated experience. Some of our customers are distributors who may be able to return unsold goods in consignment arrangements. Underlying operating profit Underlying operating profit means operating profit before the impact of non-underlying items within operating profit (see note 3). Underlying operating profit represents our measure of segment profit or loss as it is the primary measure used for the purpose of making decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance of segments. Underlying operating margin is calculated as underlying operating profit divided by turnover. Our segments are comprised of similar product categories. 10 categories (2019: 9; 2018: 9) individually accounted for 5% or more of our revenue in one or more of the last three years. The following table shows the relevant contribution of these categories to Group revenue for the periods shown:
Category |  | Segment |  | 2020 |  |  | 2019 |  |  | 2018 |
Fabric |  | Home Care |  |  | 14 | % |  |  | 15 | % |  |  | 15 | %
Ice cream |  | Foods & Refreshment |  |  | 13 | % |  |  | 13 | % |  |  | 13 | %
Skin Cleansing |  | Beauty & Personal Care |  |  | 12 | % |  |  | 10 | % |  |  | 10 | %
Hair care |  | Beauty & Personal Care |  |  | 11 | % |  |  | 12 | % |  |  | 12 | %
Savoury |  | Foods & Refreshment |  |  | 11 | % |  |  | 11 | % |  |  | 11 | %
Deodorants |  | Beauty & Personal Care |  |  | 8 | % |  |  | 8 | % |  |  | 8 | %
Skin care |  | Beauty & Personal Care |  |  | 7 | % |  |  | 8 | % |  |  | 7 | %
Dressings |  | Foods & Refreshment |  |  | 6 | % |  |  | 5 | % |  |  | 5 | %
Tea |  | Foods & Refreshment |  |  | 6 | % |  |  | 6 | % |  |  | 6 | %
Home & Hygiene |  | Home Care |  |  | 5 | % |  |  | 4 | % |  |  | 4 | %
Other |  |  |  |  | 8 | % |  |  | 7 | % |  |  | 9 | %
The Group operating segment information is provided based on three product areas: Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment and Home Care.
|  | Notes |  |  | € million Beauty & Personal Care |  |  | € million Foods & Refreshment |  |  | € million Home Care |  |  | € million Total |
2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21,124 |  |  |  | 19,140 |  |  |  | 10,460 |  |  |  | 50,724 |
Operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,311 |  |  |  | 2,749 |  |  |  | 1,243 |  |  |  | 8,303 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | 3 |  |  |  | 280 |  |  |  | 508 |  |  |  | 276 |  |  |  | 1,064 |
Underlying operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,591 |  |  |  | 3,257 |  |  |  | 1,519 |  |  |  | 9,367 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  |  |  |  |  | 7 |  |  |  | 163 |  |  |  | 5 |  |  |  | 175 |
Significant non-cash charges: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Within underlying operating profit: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Depreciation and amortisation |  |  |  |  |  |  | 710 |  |  |  | 946 |  |  |  | 362 |  |  |  | 2,018 |
Share-based compensation and other non-cash charges (a) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 77 |  |  |  | 85 |  |  |  | 41 |  |  |  | 203 |
Within non-underlying items: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment and other non-cash charges (b) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 38 |  |  |  | 77 |  |  |  | 35 |  |  |  | 150 |
2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21,868 |  |  |  | 19,287 |  |  |  | 10,825 |  |  |  | 51,980 |
Operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,520 |  |  |  | 2,811 |  |  |  | 1,377 |  |  |  | 8,708 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | 3 |  |  |  | 440 |  |  |  | 571 |  |  |  | 228 |  |  |  | 1,239 |
Underlying operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,960 |  |  |  | 3,382 |  |  |  | 1,605 |  |  |  | 9,947 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  | 171 |  |  |  | 4 |  |  |  | 176 |
Significant non-cash charges: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Within underlying operating profit: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Depreciation and amortisation |  |  |  |  |  |  | 693 |  |  |  | 902 |  |  |  | 369 |  |  |  | 1,964 |
Share-based compensation and other non-cash charges (a) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 62 |  |  |  | 56 |  |  |  | 50 |  |  |  | 168 |
Within non-underlying items: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment and other non-cash charges (b) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 105 |  |  |  | 159 |  |  |  | 46 |  |  |  | 310 |
2018 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  |  |  |  |  | 20,624 |  |  |  | 20,227 |  |  |  | 10,131 |  |  |  | 50,982 |
Operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,165 |  |  |  | 7,287 |  |  |  | 1,187 |  |  |  | 12,639 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | 3 |  |  |  | 378 |  |  |  | (3,711 | ) |  |  | 157 |  |  |  | (3,176 | )
Underlying operating profit |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4,543 |  |  |  | 3,576 |  |  |  | 1,344 |  |  |  | 9,463 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  |  |  |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  | 183 |  |  |  | 3 |  |  |  | 185 |
Significant non-cash charges: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Within underlying operating profit: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Depreciation and amortisation |  |  |  |  |  |  | 686 |  |  |  | 949 |  |  |  | 373 |  |  |  | 2,008 |
Share-based compensation and other non-cash charges (a) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 102 |  |  |  | 102 |  |  |  | 46 |  |  |  | 250 |
Within non-underlying items: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Impairment and other non-cash charges (b) |  |  |  |  |  |  | 122 |  |  |  | 164 |  |  |  | 263 |  |  |  | 549 |
(a) | Other non-cash charges within underlying operating profit include movements in provisions from underlying activities, excluding movements arising from non- underlying activities.
(b) | Other non-cash charges within non-underlying items includes movements in restructuring provisions and movements in certain legal provisions.
The Unilever Group is not reliant on turnover from transactions with any single customer and does not receive 10% or more of its turnover from transactions with any single customer.
Segment assets and liabilities are not provided because they are not reported to or reviewed by our chief operating decision-maker, which is the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE). As part of Unification, Unilever PLC became the single parent of the Group and the United Kingdom became the country of domicile. Before Unification, the countries of domicile were the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Turnover and non-current assets for the domicile country, the United States and India (being the two largest country outside the home countries) and for all other countries are:
|  | € million |  |  | € million |  |  | € million |  |  | € million |  |  | € million |
|  | United Kingdom |  |  | United States |  |  | India |  |  | Others (a) |  |  | Total |
2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 2,391 |  |  |  | 9,363 |  |  |  | 4,993 |  |  |  | 33,977 |  |  |  | 50,724 |
Non-current assets (b) |  |  | 3,587 |  |  |  | 12,946 |  |  |  | 6,264 |  |  |  | 23,633 |  |  |  | 46,430 |
2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 2,306 |  |  |  | 8,702 |  |  |  | 4,964 |  |  |  | 36,009 |  |  |  | 51,980 |
Non-current assets (b) |  |  | 3,891 |  |  |  | 13,326 |  |  |  | 1,137 |  |  |  | 25,391 |  |  |  | 43,744 |
2018 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 2,385 |  |  |  | 8,305 |  |  |  | 4,565 |  |  |  | 35,727 |  |  |  | 50,982 |
Non-current assets (b) |  |  | 3,160 |  |  |  | 12,471 |  |  |  | 1,080 |  |  |  | 25,400 |  |  |  | 42,111 |
(a) | Includes the Netherlands that was presented as country of domicile in prior years.
(b) | For the purpose of this table, non-current assets include goodwill, intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and other non-current assets as shown on the consolidated balance sheet. Goodwill is attributed to countries where acquired business operated at the time of acquisition; all other assets are attributed to the countries where they were acquired.
No other country had turnover or non-current assets (as shown above) greater than 10% of the Group total. Additional information by geographies Although the Group’s operations are managed by product area, we provide additional information based on geographies. The analysis of turnover by geographical area is stated on the basis of origin.
|  | € million Asia/ AMET/RUB (a) |  |  | € million The Americas (b) |  |  | € million Europe |  |  | € million Total |
2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 23,440 |  |  |  | 16,080 |  |  |  | 11,204 |  |  |  | 50,724 |
Operating profit |  |  | 4,137 |  |  |  | 2,723 |  |  |  | 1,443 |  |  |  | 8,303 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | 409 |  |  |  | 249 |  |  |  | 406 |  |  |  | 1,064 |
Underlying operating profit |  |  | 4,546 |  |  |  | 2,973 |  |  |  | 1,848 |  |  |  | 9,367 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  | 8 |  |  |  | 122 |  |  |  | 45 |  |  |  | 175 |
2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 24,129 |  |  |  | 16,482 |  |  |  | 11,369 |  |  |  | 51,980 |
Operating profit |  |  | 4,418 |  |  |  | 2,683 |  |  |  | 1,607 |  |  |  | 8,708 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | 439 |  |  |  | 395 |  |  |  | 405 |  |  |  | 1,239 |
Underlying operating profit |  |  | 4,857 |  |  |  | 3,078 |  |  |  | 2,012 |  |  |  | 9,947 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  | (5 | ) |  |  | 126 |  |  |  | 55 |  |  |  | 176 |
2018 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Turnover |  |  | 22,868 |  |  |  | 16,020 |  |  |  | 12,094 |  |  |  | 50,982 |
Operating profit |  |  | 4,824 |  |  |  | 3,621 |  |  |  | 4,194 |  |  |  | 12,639 |
Non-underlying items |  |  | (437 | ) |  |  | (892 | ) |  |  | (1,847 | ) |  |  | (3,176 | )
Underlying operating profit |  |  | 4,387 |  |  |  | 2,729 |  |  |  | 2,347 |  |  |  | 9,463 |
Share of net profit/(loss) of joint ventures and associates |  |  | — |  |  |  | 114 |  |  |  | 71 |  |  |  | 185 |
(a) | Refers to Asia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
(b) | Americas sales in North America were €10,117 million (2019: €9,411 million; 2018 €9,041 million) and in Latin America were €5,963 million (2019: €7,071 million; 2018: €6,979 million).
Disaggregation of sales by markets are:
|  | € million 2020 |  |  | € million 2019 |  |  | € million 2018 |
Emerging markets |  |  | 29,281 |  |  |  | 31,021 |  |  |  | 29,654 |
Developed markets |  |  | 21,443 |  |  |  | 20,959 |  |  |  | 21,328 |
Transactions between the Unilever Group’s geographical regions are carried out on an arm’s length basis and their net impact is immaterial.

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