Beiersdorf AG forecast a further increase in sales this year, as revenue of Nivea cream and other brand-name skincare products help it outpace the market.
Revenue will increase 3 per cent to 4 per cent from last year on a so-called organic basis, Hamburg-based Beiersdorf said recently, compared with last year’s 3-per-cent growth. That’s in line with Sanford C. Bernstein’s estimates. The operating margin will be slightly higher than 2015’s record level of 14.4 per cent, the company forecast.
Chief executive officer Stefan Heidenreich is benefitting from increased demand for 'trusted' beauty brands, including its Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie lines, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Duncan Fox. Its ability to extend those brands to new consumer groups will help it outpace the global skincare market, he said. Nivea is also raising prices as it competes with products from Procter & Gamble Co. and L’Oréal SA.
Earnings before interest and taxes, excluding some items, rose 12 per cent to €962 million ($1.1 billion) last year, compared with the average €963.4-million estimate of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.
Beiersdorf said on 14 January that last year’s sales grew 3 per cent on an organic basis, or 6.4 per cent as reported in euro, to €6.69 billion, in line with estimates.
Its consumer sales rose 3.6 per cent last year on that basis, compared with 3.4-per-cent growth for the global skincare market, according to Fox.
Shares of Beiersdorf have dropped 3.2 per cent this year, compared with a 15-per-cent drop in the DAX Index.
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