Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Unilever, the world’s second-largest consumer-goods maker, reported fourth-quarter revenue growth that beat estimates, led by growth of its personal-care products.

Sales excluding acquisitions and currency fluctuations rose 7.8 percent in the three months through December, the London- and Rotterdam-based company said today in a statement. The average estimate of 13 analysts polled by Bloomberg for so- called underlying sales was 6.2 percent. The quantity of goods sold gained 4.8 percent, more than the 4 percent estimated by analysts and the biggest quarterly gain in two years.

“We remain focused on achieving another year of profitable volume growth ahead of our markets, steady and sustainable core operating margin improvement and strong cash flow,” Chief Executive Officer Paul Polman said in the statement.

--Editors: Thomas Mulier, Celeste Perri