Beiersdorf, the maker of Nivea face cream, has posted a 6.0% organic increase in sales in its Europe division in the first half of its financial year, to €1.91 billion.
Europe sales were up 4.3% in nominal terms, the company said.
In its Americas division, sales were up 6.2% (-4.1% in nominal terms), while in Africa/Asia/Australia, sales were up 11.5% (+4.3% in nominal terms).
Overall, organic group sales were up 7.7% on the previous year. In nominal terms, sales rose by 2.8% to €3.613 billion.
“Beiersdorf has ended the first half of the year again with a significant rise in sales and further gains in market share," commented Stefan F. Heidenreich, CEO of Beiersdorf AG. "This applies to both the Consumer and tesa Business Segments. With our forward-thinking and results-driven business model we have built a strong foundation for sustainable growth."
Consumer Products
Beiersdorf's Consumer Business segments posted organic sales growth of 7.0% in the first six months of the year, with both its Western Europe (+5.0%) and Eastern Europe (+7.5%) businesses performing strongly.
The company said that negative exchange rates reduced its growth by 5.1% percentage points, particularly in Latin America, where it posted an 11.2% decline in nominal sales.
In terms of specific brand performance, Nivea sales were up 3.5% year-on-year. The Derma business unit, which includes the Eucerin and Aquaphor brands, saw its sales rise by 9.5%.
Its Healthcare segment, which includes Hansaplast and Elastoplast, was up 0.9% year-on-year, while La Prairie posted an impressive 55.9% increase in sales.
The tesa business segment posted an organic sales rise of 10.6% in the first half.
"The core of our Blue & Beyond focus is our effort to further leverage the potential of Eucerin, Hansaplast, and La Prairie, alongside our iconic Nivea brand, as well as to drive forward digitalisation," added Heidenreich. "It clearly shows that we are in a strong position and that we have set the right direction for the future. Despite all the political and economic uncertainty, we look ahead to the coming months with optimism."
Beiersdorf is anticipating sales growth of around 5% for the year, with the sales forecast for the consumer business segment also expected to be around the 5% mark.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
