July 25 (Reuters) - Unilever ( UL ) beat first-half

profit expectations on Thursday boosted by resilient pricing

even as sales growth disappointed.

Shares in the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann's condiments

rose 6.8% in early trade to the top of London's FTSE 100 index

.

Unilever ( UL ) posted a 3.9% rise in second-quarter underlying

sales, below the 4.2% increase expected by analysts in a

company-compiled consensus.

It maintained its full-year underlying sales growth forecast

of 3% to 5%, mostly driven by volume, while its forecast for an

underlying operating margin of at least 18% was stronger than

the market view.

Switzerland's Nestle also reported lower than

expected half-year sales growth on Thursday and lowered its full

year outlook.

"There is much to do, but we remain focused on transforming

Unilever ( UL ) into a consistently higher performing business," CEO

Hein Schumacher said in a statement.

After a protracted global cost of living crisis, some

consumer goods makers have been easing their price increases,

hoping to attract back shoppers who traded down to cheaper,

often private label products.

Unilever's ( UL ) underlying price growth for the quarter was less

than expected at 1%, but underlying volume sales growth ran

ahead of estimates at 2.9%.

The industry has struggled with soaring costs for several

years, with everything from sunflower oil and shipping to

packaging, grain and energy becoming more expensive during and

in the wake of the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Unilever's ( UL ) underlying operating profit rose 17% to 6.1

billion euros ($6.61 billion) for the six months to June,

beating market expectations of 5.44 billion euros.

Its underlying operating margin widened 250 basis points to

19.6%, although the company expects that to slow in the second

half.

($1 = 0.9226 euros)