Beiersdorf has raised its annual forecast for organic sales a second time this year, after its core brand Nivea and high sunscreen demand drove double-digit growth in half-year organic sales.
The German firm now expects organic sales for the group and its consumer unit to grow by a high single-digit to low double-digit percentage range, compared with a previous forecast for mid-to-high single-digit growth.
First-half sales grew 12.3% from a year earlier, to €4.9 billion, with an adjusted operating profit (adjusted EBIT) of €852 million, up from €710 million a year earlier.
'Both Nivea and the Derma brands grew strongly in all regions and categories, and more than offset the weaker performance of our luxury business,' the company said in a statement.
Nivea sales were up 17.9% from a year earlier, while sales of Derma brands Eucerin and Aquaphor jumped 26.1% on 'exceptionally high' demand for sun protection, particularly in North and Latin America.
'Increased Profitability'
“We not only continued our growth path but also significantly increased our profitability in the first half of the year. Our Consumer Business outperformed the market in terms of growth," commented chief executive Vincent Warnery.
"These positive results give us confidence for the coming months, even though we still expect headwinds in some areas."
Consumer Business Segment
Organic sales in Beiersdorf's Consumer Business Segment were 14.9% higher in the period, while sales in nominal terms rose 12.9%.
Its tesa business, meanwhile, reported organic growth of 1.2%, while nominal sales were down 1.3% compared to the same period last year.
Analyst Comment
Commenting on its performance, analyst Iain Simpson of Barclays said, "Beiersdorf delivered another impressive quarter, with Consumer comfortably beating on topline and margin, and FY23e Consumer Organic Sales Growth guidance raised to 'high single digit to low double digit' from 'mid single digit to high single digit' (consensus 11.0%).
"While expectations for Beiersdorf have likely been drifting up following recent strong results from L’Oréal, the scale of this beat still deserves to be well received in our view."
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Additional reporting by ESM
