LONDON — Unilever, the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, reported an unexpected decline in shipments as it raised prices by the most in four years, setting the stage for what is expected to be a difficult reporting season for consumer-goods makers. The volume of goods sold in the third quarter declined 0.4%, Unilever said on Thursday, the second-weakest quarterly performance since 2008. Underlying revenue growth slowed to 3.2%. The shares fell as much as 3.7% in London as the company said it did not expect market conditions to improve in the fourth quarter. Unilever, which is reportedly embroiled in a dispute with British grocer Tesco over Brexit-related price increases, aimed to resolve the issue quickly, chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly said on Thursday. The overall volume decline raises concerns about ebbing demand across the consumer-goods industry as the third-quarter reporting season gets under way. Nestle told analysts last month its sales growth might be lower than ear...
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