Unilever has said that it ‘remains on track’ to separate its ice cream division by the end 2025, and to move the headquarters of the demerged company to Amsterdam.

Chief executive Hein Schumacher revealed in a post-trading call that the consumer goods giant had made good progress in its decision to spin-off its ice cream division, which includes popular brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Walls, and Magnum.

The CEO said the division will be separated “by way of a demerger” through a listing in Amsterdam, London and New York, while the ice cream business will incorporated in the Netherlands and headquartered in Amsterdam.

Explaining this move, Schumacher described the Netherlands as “country of consolidation” and said the decision was made to “mitigate any technical flowbacks”.

To facilitate the shift, Unilever has appointed former Heineken and Vodaphone CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer as chair designate for the separated ice cream business.

Schumacher also revealed that the manufacturer had already made a reduction of 4,300 roles across its ice cream division, but intended to make a further 3,200 job cuts, bringing the total to 7,500 by 2025, as outlined last year.

Unilever has previously teased the idea of relocating and using the Netherlands to host the FMCG giant’s split-off ice cream decision.

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Last March, Schumacher told Dutch television programme Buitenhof: “The most likely route is to split off with a separate stock exchange listing and its own head office.

“As a company, we are now listed in London, the largest market for ice cream is the United States and we currently run the ice cream division from the Netherlands. If I follow the most likely route, then the Netherlands has a good chance.”

It comes as Unilever’s profits have soared in 2024, driven by success from its power brands. In the full year ending 31 December, the business’ underlying operating profits rose 12.6% to €11.2bn, while its underlying sales grew 4.2%.

The growth was driven by its Beauty & Wellbeing division, which was up 6.5% in the period. However, its personal care and food arms were also up 5.2% and 2.6% respectively. Performance was led by Unilever’s power brands, which experienced growth with 5.3% underlying sales growth and volumes up 3.8%

Elsewhere, Unilever was subject to recent market rumours of an impending acquisition of sustainable personal care brand Wild, in a deal thought to be worth £230m.