Consumer goods group Unilever has increased annual pre-tax profit by 11% to €5.18 billion, just above market forecast consensus.

The company saw its third successive year of accelerating sales growth alongside an underlying improvement in margin.

Analysts' expectations had ranged between €5.04-5.23 billion, with the consensus at €5.16 billion.

Total sales grew by 5% at constant currency rates to €40.19 billion.

The group reported underlying sales growth of 5.5% for the year, with an operating margin of 13.1%, up by 20 basis points.

Unilever said it enjoyed widespread growth across regions and categories, in line with its strategy of focusing resources on developing and emerging markets and personal care.

It achieved cost savings of €1 billion over the year.

Chief executive Patrick Cescau said Unilever remains confident of achieving an operating margin in excess of 15% in 2010.

The company is targeting underlying sales growth towards the upper end of its 3-5% target range during 2008.

It will spend at least €1.5 billion on buying back shares this year.