Unilever's second-quarter sales top estimates

LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Unilever reported higher-than-expected second-quarter sales on Thursday, driven by increases in its home and personal care businesses.

The results provide further evidence that the Anglo-Dutch maker of Dove soap, Lipton tea and Ben & Jerry's ice cream is recovering from a weak 2014, when its business was hammered by weakening emerging markets and currency devaluations.

Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) said underlying sales rose 2.9 percent in the second quarter, versus analysts' average estimate for a gain of 2.6 percent, according to a company-compiled consensus.

For the first half, the company's operating profit was 3.8 billion euros ($4.15 billion), in line with analysts' estimates.

Unilever said it was planning for "another year of volume growth ahead of our markets, steady improvement in core operating margin and strong cash flow".

In April, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huet said full-year sales growth would probably come in at the upper end of its previously stated goal of 2 to 4 percent.

($1 = 0.9150 euros)

(Reporting by Martinne Geller in London; Editing by Pravin Char)