Beiersdorf grows further in challenging environment
Beiersdorf continued its upward trend in the first six months of 2016. Group sales increased organically by 2.8%. At 3.358 billion, nominal sales were down 1.3% from 3.402 billion due to negative exchange rate effects. Group EBIT excluding special factors rose from 508 million to 513 million. The EBIT margin continued to improve, reaching 15.3% compared with last year's 14.9%. This was despite poor macreconomic conditions in many markets. For the full year, Beiersdorf remains cautiously optimistic and confirms its guidance.
"Beiersdorf is continuing on its profitable growth path. Once again, we were able to increase sales and profits, gaining market shares and defying a challenging market environment", said Stefan F. Heidenreich, CEO of Beiersdorf AG. "The current economic and political developments across the world have increased both overall consumer uncertainty and competitive pressure. Being successful in such an environment is not a given. Beiersdorf continues to concentrate on its core strengths: its brands, its innovation capacity and expanding its presence in emerging markets. Overall, we are cautiously optimistic about the full year."
Group sales performance
Organic Group sales in the first six months of 2016 rose 2.8% on the prior year. At 3.358 billion, nominal sales were down 1.3% on the previous year's figure of 3.402 billion. This decline was attributable to negative currency effects.
Consumer Business Segment
The Consumer Business Segment recorded organic sales growth of 3.3% in the first six months of the year. At 2.798 billion, nominal sales were down 1.0% on the previous year's figure of 2.827 billion due to exchange rate effects. EBIT in the Consumer Business Segment increased to 424 million (previous year: 410 million). The EBIT margin improved from 14.5% in the previous year to 15.1%.
All core brands contributed to this positive sales performance. NIVEA increased sales by 4.2%, Eucerin by 1.0%, and La Prairie by 6.2%.
Europe
Sales in the Europe region grew by 2.4%. Sales in Western Europe were up 1.4% at the end of the first six months. Germany saw especially high growth. Beiersdorf again achieved strong growth of 6.9% in Eastern Europe, driven by a healthy performance in Russia.
Americas
Sales in the Americas region grew by 1.5%. In Latin America, they were up 3.8%, mainly driven by Brazil and Mexico. By contrast, sales declined in Argentina. Sales in North America were down 1.7% on the strong prior-year period.
Africa/Asia/Australia
Beiersdorf generated sales growth of 6.3% in the Africa/Asia/Australia region in the first half of 2016. Performance was especially strong in Japan and India. In China, sales were slightly down on the previous year.
tesa Business Segment
Organic sales in the tesa Business Segment recorded a slight increase of 0.2% against the prior year despite a decline in the first quarter. At 560 million, nominal sales were down 2.7% on the previous year's figure of 575 million due to the negative impact of exchange rates and structural effects. The sales trend remained stable thanks to the healthy performance of the industrial and consumer business in Europe and the Americas. In Asia, meanwhile, sales remained below the previous year's level due to continued weak demand from the electronics industry.
