The quarterly underlying sales rise from the maker of Knorr soups, Dove soap and Sunsilk shampoo was ahead of an analyst consensus forecast of 4.1 percent and towards the top of a 2.8 to 5.8 percent range for the January-March quarter.

The sales rise came from price increases of 6.8 percent with group quarterly volumes down by some 1.8 percent.

"First quarter results were solid given today's trading environment, with growth of 4.8 percent and underlying margins maintained, before dilution from disposals," said Chief Executive Paul Polman in a results statement.

"We will further step up innovation and brand support from the second quarter and expect this to drive an improved volume performance," he added.

Anglo-Dutch Unilever, the world's third-biggest food and consumer goods group, shocked investors in February by scrapped all its targets due to global economic uncertainty and saying it could not give a 2009 outlook in current conditions.

Polman joined Unilever at the start of 2009 after working for Unilever's two bigger rivals Procter and Gamble and Nestle and is expected to try a revive the group from its underperformance against its peers.

The group, whose 400 brands include Hellmann's mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Omo detergent posted first-quarter earnings per share down 13 percent at 0.30 euro a share, due to group disposals, compared with forecasts of around 0.32 euros.

Unilever shares have underperformed the FTSE 100 index by nearly 20 percent and the DJ Food and Beverage Index by over 15 percent so far this year. Unilever Plc shares closed on Wednesday at 13.14 pounds.

(Reporting by David Jones)

LONDON (Reuters)