A marketing blitz and hefty price cutting has assisted Ben & Jerry's owner Unilever deliver sales growth that exceeded forecast.

The management admitted that this remained subject to competitor price moves and, with soaring pressure on consumer spending speculated to increase this year, competitors are still likely to turn up the heat on heavy promotional activity to grab value-conscious shoppers.

However, shares in the consumer goods giant reported a fall of more than 3% after its boss, Paul Polman, issued a clear warning for 2010 citing it was 'naïve to assume we have turned the corner'.

Unilever boastfully revealed its own advertising expenditure boosted by 240 basis points in the fourth quarter, however, was still able to improve underlying operating margins by 20 basis points as a result of tight controls.

Polman's mantra argued the aggressive price cuts were in proportion to rises initiated by his predecessor when the firm was preparing for the downturn.

The recent data claims the profits for the year to fell from £6.1bn to £3.5bn due to the inflated 2008 figures by one-off gains from disposals.