6 May 2019 - Deborah Wilkes
Beiersdorf's Consumer business reported worldwide sales up by 6.8% on an organic basis in the first quarter of 2019. Chief executive officer Stefan De Loecker said growth had been achieved in all geographic regions by "recognising local consumer and market trends and responding to them on an individual basis".
According to De Loecker, sales growth at the Consumer business had "outperformed the market" and had been "broad based".
Beiersdorf recently unveiled a new strategy to boost the performance of its Consumer business in a period of "profound transformation of the industry".
Announcing C.A.R.E.+ in February 2019, the German skincare specialist said the strategy would be supported by additional investment of between EUR70 million (USD79 million) and EUR80 million per year. The focus would be on "new markets, innovation, digitalisation and up-skilling of the workforce", added the company (click here to read the News story).
Acquiring Coppertone from Bayer
The company has just announced plans to boost the Consumer business by acquiring the Coppertone brand from Bayer Consumer Health for USD550 million (click here to read the News story).
Worldwide sales at the Consumer business reached EUR1.60 billion in the first quarter of 2019, representing a rise of 6.8% on an organic basis compared to the same period a year earlier. A positive currency effect of 1.3% meant sales were up by 8.1% as reported.
Sales in Europe were up by 5.3% on an organic basis to EUR804 million, accounting for 50.3% of the total for the Consumer business. Sales in Western Europe rose by 6.2%, but sales in Eastern Europe were only up by 1.2%.
In the Africa/Asia/Australia region, sales grew by 10.6% on an organic basis to EUR528 million. Beiersdorf highlighted strong performances in Japan, Australia, India, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa, as well as a "major contribution" by the La Prairie brand.
Sales in the Americas region increased by 4.4% on an organic basis to EUR266 million, with growth of 3.7% in North America and a rise of 5.0% in Latin America.
Beiersdorf said there had been an upward trend in Germany and Austria, but sales had declined in Italy and Spain.
Performance of key brands
Commenting on its key brands, Beiersdorf said Nivea had achieved "strong growth" of 4.9% and the Derma unit, which includes the Eucerin and Aquaphor brands, had reported sales up by 4.7%. Meanwhile, La Prairie had achieved sales growth of 28.7%.
The Healthcare unit, which mainly comprises plasters, recorded sales up by 7.0%.
The Consumer business generated 82.1% of Beiersdorf's worldwide sales in the first quarter of 2019, which were up by 6.0% on an organic basis. Growth as reported was 7.8% to EUR1.81 billion.
Beiersdorf's Tesa self-adhesive products business generated the remaining 17.9% of the company's sales, with a rise of 2.2% on an organic basis to EUR349 million.
Giving guidance for 2019, Beiersdorf said sales by the Consumer business were expected to increase by 3%-5% and the Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) margin was expected to be 14.0%-14.5%.
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