PARIS – Beiersdorf AG’s revenues climbed 4.6 percent in the first half of 2017, spurred by both its consumer and Tesa adhesives activities.
The German maker of Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie posted sales of 3.51 billion euros in the six months ended June 30. In organic terms, the group’s revenues advanced 3.3 percent.
“Beiersdorf achieved strong, above-market growth despite an attack on the company’s IT at the end of June. The attack led to a shift of sales from the second to the third quarter,” the Hamburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday. “Without this shift, organic sales growth for the group for the first half-year 2017 would have been 4.4 percent instead of the reported 3.3 percent.”
It added that the consumer business segment would have posted a 3.4 percent increase in organic sales, rather than 2.3 percent, while Tesa’s revenue gain would have been 9.4 percent in organic terms, instead of 8.5 percent. On a nominal basis, the two branches recorded sales increases of 3.8 percent, to 2.9 billion euros, and 9 percent, to 610 million euros, respectively.
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“Beiersdorf continued on its profitable growth path in the first six months of 2017. We have once again increased our sales, and our growth rate outperformed the market. The second quarter in particular brought a major boost in sales. We also increased earnings to a new record level for the group,” said Stefan F. Heidenreich, chief executive officer of Beiersdorf.
Within the consumer business, Nivea’s sales climbed 2.2 percent, while Eucerin’s were up 1.3 percent and La Prairie’s grew 10.2 percent.
In reported terms, sales advanced in all geographies, except for Western Europe, where they declined 0.3 percent. On an organic basis, revenues in North America dipped 1.1 percent.
Beiersdorf’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were up 9.3 percent to 561 million euros, and its EBIT margin improved to 16 percent from 15.3 percent.
The consumer segment’s EBIT grew 6.3 percent to 451 million euros, and its EBIT margin came in at 15.5 percent, against 15.1 percent in the same prior-year period.
Tesa’s EBIT advanced 23.1 percent to 110 million euros, and the branch’s EBIT margin was 18.1 percent, versus 16 percent in first-half 2016.
Beiersdorf confirmed its guidance for full-year 2017. The group’s consumer business branch is expected to outperform the beauty market in 2017, with sales gains of between 3 percent and 4 percent, and an EBIT margin from operations slightly exceeding last year’s. Tesa is forecast to register 4 percent to 5 percent sales growth and an operating EBIT on a par with that of 2016.
Beiersdorf said that it anticipates group sales will grow between 3 percent and 4 percent, and its EBIT margin is likely to increase a bit in 2017.