Management at The Magnum Ice Cream Company can now begin the real work of building toward an improved organic growth target as TMICC’s debut on exchanges in London and Amsterdam got off to a positive start.
Trading in New York will kick off later today (8 December) in a tripartite listing that’s been in the pipeline since March 2024 and is now celebrated in the long-awaited, and at times delayed demerger, from CPG giant Unilever.
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TMICC becomes the world’s largest standalone ice-cream manufacturer and by its own submission commands a 21% global market share, almost double the 11% of its nearest rival, the investor-backed Froneri.
Unlike UK-headquartered branded and private-label focused Froneri, in which Nestlé holds a 50% interest in a partnership with PAI Partners dating back to 2016, TMICC is solely focused on branded ice cream with well known names such as Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s.
TMICC generated revenue last year of €7.95bn ($9.26bn), compared to Froneri’s €5.53bn.
Under the tutelage of CEO Peter ter Kulve and finance chief Abhijit Bhattacharya, a medium-term organic sales growth target of 3-5% annually was set out at a capital markets day (CMD) in September, above the historical average of 3% generated under the auspices of Unilever.
The top-end of the range is also superior to the global market average growth for ice cream as a category of 3-4%.
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By GlobalData“We will be more agile, more focused, and more ambitious than ever,” ter Kulve said in a statement today to mark the stock-market debut.
“We have a clear strategy to deliver growth, improve productivity and reinvest in TMICC in line with the medium-term targets we set out at our recent capital Markets Day.
“With our iconic brands, world-class capabilities, expert people and the trust of millions of ice-cream lovers globally, we aim to lead the frozen snacking revolution, shaping new occasions, innovating new products and fresh ways to delight people around the world, improving the service to our customers and creating value for our shareholders and wider stakeholders.”
TMICC’s shares headed north in early London and Amsterdam trading. Reuters put the valuation at $9.2bn in Amsterdam as of a filing at 11:04 GMT.
For the time being, Unilever will retain a 19.9% stake in the demerged TMICC but that interest will be wound down gradually over five years, the parent company previously disclosed.
Sales are currently more weighted to developed markets at 65% of total revenue versus 35% for emerging markets but TMICC also plans to put more leverage into advertising and promotional spending.
A&P outlays are targeted at 13% as a percentage of group revenues from 2026 onwards, compared to relatively flat investment of 12.4% last year and 12.3% in 2023.
TMICC also has €3bn in its coffers from a bond sale in November, part of a newly set up €8bn medium-term note programme under Magnum ICC Finance. Rated BBB by S&P and Baa2 by Moody’s, the cash raised from the initial tranche will be used for “general corporate purposes” and to finance the demerger.
Bhattacharya said last month that the debt sale was seven times oversubscribed, which, he added, “clearly indicates that our strategy and story as the world’s leading ice-cream company resonates with investors”.
Barclays’ team of analysts led by Warren Ackermann outlined last month how feedback from investors had pointed to a “more prudent” organic sales growth target of around 3% and above “so as to set expectations realistically and give Magnum a better chance of both meeting and beating expectations on a consistent basis”.
However, Barclays “bull case scenario” is an estimate of 4.5% from 2026.
“As a standalone entity, TMICC will no longer be constrained by the broader priorities of Unilever’s portfolio, allowing it to allocate capital with greater precision and tailor its innovation cadence to the unique dynamics of the ice-cream category,” the analysts wrote.
Ter Kulve suggested at the September CMD that ice cream under the Unilever umbrella had room for improvement. “The business is not doing well,” was an exert from his comments.
The CEO emphasised that e-commerce is “the big growth driving channel” to complement retail and out-of-home sales – the latter currently represents about 40% of total turnover.
“Our portfolio is well-balanced, with strong brands, leading capabilities, good channel positions, good geographic positions, and it sets us up for superior growth,” ter Kulve explained.
“We have a clear strategy to unlock this growth but especially a real detailed plan to unlock productivity.”
China and India will no doubt be areas to develop as ter Kulve said TMICC lags behind leader Yili as the number two in the former market and the Anul dairy cooperative in the latter as the top ice-cream manufacturer.
CFO Bhattacharya said at the same CMD event that Unilever had been losing global ice-cream volumes for the past decade but those volumes started to return last year.
“You see the same in terms of market share, losing steadily, not by big chunks but now we’ve turned the corner,” he explained.
“Most importantly, you see that as you lose top line and volume, you lose margins. That’s the problem with our business, but that’s also the opportunity because if we drive volume growth, we will get margin expansion.”
TMICC has also put in place a €500m productivity plan until 2028, €70m of which was delivered last year. It will focus on the supply chain, overheads and “tech-enabled productivity” in manufacturing.
Geographical operations have been divided up into three divisions: The Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and thirdly, Asia, Middle East and Africa.
Based on last year’s performance, the Americas and Europe/ANZ both generated revenue of €3bn each but with respective market positions of 19% and 31%. AMEA commanded 11% valued at €2bn.
Gerardo Rozanski heads up the Americas as president while Mustafa Seckin holds the same role for Europe/ANZ. AMEA is divided between Wai-Fung Loh overseeing Asia and Toloy Tanridagli for the Middle East, Turkey, and South Asia business units.
In terms of the board, Jean-François van Boxmeer is chairman who has held senior executive and non-executive roles at Vodafone, Heineken and Henkel.
There are also seven non-executive directors: Stacey Cartwright; René Hooft Graafland; Melissa Bethell; Stefan Bomhard; Anja Mutsaers; Reginaldo Ecclissato; and Josh Frank.
TMICC has got off to a good start in terms of financial performance. Organic sales growth in 2024 was 2% and the same rate was held in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, according to figures from the CMD presentation.
Volume growth, however, slowed to 1% in the opening six months of this year from 2% in the full-year 2024. The adjusted EBITDA margin has also improved, rising 134 basis points last year and another 100 points in H1 2025.
Revenue last year was reported as €7.95bn, up from €7.62bn from the prior period.
Adjusted operating profit climbed to €964m from €854m, while the margin rose to 12.1% versus 11.2%.
Adjusted EBITDA increased to €1.34bn from €1.21bn and the EBITDA margin climbed to 16.9% from 15.9%.
As TMICC evolves into a standalone entity, questions have once again emerged over the future of other food assets in the Unilever portfolio. It has long been speculated that like ice cream, the CPG major would either spin-off or sell other parts of its consumable brands to focus on beauty and wellbeing, personal care, and home care.
Reuters reported last month, quoting unnamed sources, that Unilever was considering selling the food brands Marmite, Colman’s and Bovril.
Ackermann’s Barclays’ team wrote in November.
“We think Magnum’s fortunes will be much improved as a pure play company rather than stuck inside Unilever, which has other priorities. In our view, the ice cream separation should be seen in the context of Unilever becoming a higher-growth, higher-margin business that is becoming more laser focused on where it wants to allocate its finite resources.
“Unilever’s future is clearly moving away from mass market food and HPC to become a more premium beauty player with a strong health and wellness consumer offering.”
