Unilever's net pension deficit of its Dutch and U.K. pension funds declined to €2 billion ($2.7 billion) as of Dec. 31, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The deficit fell by 39.4% vs. the deficit on Dec. 31, 2012, reported on an IAS 19 basis, an accounting rule for defining employee benefits.
The Dutch pension fund, known as Progress, Rotterdam, Netherlands, had € 4.5 billion of assets on Dec. 31, while the latest reports for the U.K. fund, the Unilever U.K. Pension Fund, Surrey, England, as of March 31 showed assets of £6.6 billion ($10.8 billion).
In a statement accompanying its 2013 year-end results, London-based Unilever said the deficit reduction “reflects the impact of investment returns, in excess of the interest cost on liabilities, and cash contributions.”