Beiersdorf, the maker of Nivea face cream, has posted a year-on-year nominal sales increase of 7.7% to €1.801 billion for the first quarter of the year.
Organic group sales were up 4.8% in the period. The first quarter of 2016 saw the group post sales of €1.673 billion.
“Beiersdorf has further accelerated its growth with another strong boost in the first quarter 2017 and substantial gains in market shares,” commented Stefan F. Heidenreich, chief executive of Beiersdorf AG
“This applies to both business segments, Consumer and tesa. tesa saw a particularly strong jump in sales, emphasising its strong position in the world market. Consumer also generated an excellent sales increase in a declining market environment. We therefore look ahead with cautious optimism despite the continuing risks in the markets.”
Consumer Business Segment
The group’s Consumer Business segment, which includes the Nivea and Eucerin brands, posted a 3.8% increase in nominal terms in Europe in the quarter, with Western Europe posting a 0.7% increase, and Eastern Europe posting a 18.4% increase. The Americas region was up 12.5%, while Africa/Asia/Australia was up 6.7%.
Nivea sales were up 3.5% in the quarter, with Eucerin up by 3.3%, while its La Prarie brand saw sales rise by 10.5%.
For the year ahead, Beiersdorf said that it expects the Consumer Business segment to rise by between 3% and 4% over the full year.
‘Based on the forecasts for the two business segments, we expect Group sales to grow by 3–4%,’ the company said. ‘The consolidated EBIT margin from operations is expected to be slightly up on the prior year.’
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
