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The owner of Ben & Jerry’s has shrugged off its dispute with the ice cream maker as “noise” and asserted that there are no plans to sell the brand, as it revealed a drop in its profits since being split off from Unilever.

The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) demerged from its previous owner and became an independently listed company in December.

It is the world’s biggest ice cream company – with brands including Magnum, Cornetto and Wall’s among its roster.

But a row with Ben & Jerry’s has deepened in recent months, with co-founder Jerry Greenfield quitting in September after almost 50 years at the firm, claiming the brand has lost its independence after former owner Unilever halted its social activism.

The founders have argued that the brand was created with a mission for social good, and reached an agreement with Unilever to guarantee Ben & Jerry’s autonomy – including an independent board.

They launched a campaign to “free” the ice cream company from the separated ice cream group and be allowed to be independent again.

Furthermore, a governance dispute with members of the brand’s board resulted in them being removed from their roles at the end of last year.

TMICC chief executive Peter ter Kulve stressed on Thursday that the group has “no intention” to sell Ben & Jerry’s, adding: “It’s an important and very successful part of our portfolio.

“We have actually invested more in the social mission than we have in buying the company.

“The dispute is well-known, it’s priced in, and basically has no impact on the larger company. In many ways, as I’ve said before, it’s noise.”

TMICC revealed that its net profit for 2025 plunged by nearly 49% compared with the year before, to 307 million euros (£225 million).

This drop was partly driven by a net increase of 118 million euros (£86 million) in higher separation and restructuring costs, it said.

Revenues were broadly flat year-on-year, at 7.9 billion euros (£5.8 billion), with foreign exchange movements having a negative impact.

But sales grew by 2.7% in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, driven by a strong performance in the UK, France and Spain, particularly for Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s and Cornetto.

The company said this was helped by innovative product launches, particularly for its more premium range such as Cornetto Max, while it also rolled out more portion-control options like Magnum Bonbons and Ben & Jerry’s Peaces in markets around the world.

Meanwhile Unilever separately published its full year financial results on Thursday, reporting turnover of 50.5 billion euros (£37 billion) for the year – down 3.8% on the prior year.

The company said demerging the ice cream business helped it to become a “simpler, sharper, and faster” business with a clearer strategy.

It continues to own a swathe of household brands including personal and home care labels Vaseline, Dove, Radox and Persil, and food brands Hellmann’s, Marmite, Colman’s and Pot Noodle.

On an underlying basis, which strips out one-off costs including foreign exchange movements, sales grew by 3.5% year-on-year, Unilever said, with the volume of sales rising and prices up by 2%.

It said this was achieved despite sales activity slowing across its markets towards the end of the year in the US and Europe.