Beiersdorf grows further in challenging environmentSales and earnings increase in first half-year 2016

• Group sales rise 2.8%
• Consumer sales increase by 3.3%
• tesa sales slightly up on the prior year
• Group EBIT margin improves to 15.3%
• Guidance for 2016 confirmed – approach remains cautious

Hamburg, August 4, 2016 – Beiersdorf continued its upward trend in the first six months of 2016. Group sales increased organically by 2.8%. At €3.358 billion, nominal sales were down 1.3% from €3.402 billion due to negative exchange rate effects. Group EBIT excluding special factors rose from €508 million to €513 million. The EBIT margin continued to improve, reaching 15.3% compared with last year’s 14.9%. This was despite poor macroeconomic conditions in many markets. For the full year, Beiersdorf remains cautiously optimistic and confirms its guidance.

“Beiersdorf is continuing on its profitable growth path. Once again, we were able to increase sales and profits, gaining market shares and defying a challenging market environment”, said Stefan F. Heidenreich, CEO of Beiersdorf AG. “The current economic and political developments across the world have increased both overall consumer uncertainty and competitive pressure. Being successful in such an environment is not a given. Beiersdorf continues to concentrate on its core strengths: its brands, its innovation capacity and expanding its presence in emerging markets. Overall, we are cautiously optimistic about the full year.”

Organic Group sales in the first six months of 2016 rose 2.8% on the prior year. At €3.358 billion, nominal sales were down 1.3% on the previous year’s figure of €3.402 billion. This decline was attributable to negative currency effects.

The Consumer Business Segment recorded organic sales growth of 3.3% in the first six months of the year. At €2.798 billion, nominal sales were down 1.0% on the previous year’s figure of €2.827 billion due to exchange rate effects. EBIT in the Consumer Business Segment increased to €424 million (previous year: €410 million). The EBIT margin improved from 14.5% in the previous year to 15.1%.

All core brands contributed to this positive sales performance. NIVEA increased sales by 4.2%, Eucerin by 1.0%, and La Prairie by 6.2%.

Organic sales in the tesa Business Segment recorded a slight increase of 0.2% against the prior year despite a decline in the first quarter. At €560 million, nominal sales were down 2.7% on the previous year’s figure of €575 million due to the negative impact of exchange rates and structural effects. EBIT declined to €89 million (previous year: €98 million). The EBIT margin was 16.0%, compared with the prior-year figure of 17.1%.

The sales trend remained stable thanks to the healthy performance of the industrial and consumer business in Europe and the Americas. In Asia, meanwhile, sales remained below the previous year’s level due to continued weak demand from the electronics industry.

Beiersdorf anticipates that the Consumer Business Segment will outperform the market with sales growth of 3–4%. The EBIT margin from operations is expected to slightly exceed the prior-year figure.

At tesa, sales growth is forecast to be slightly higher than in the previous year. The EBIT margin from operations is expected to be slightly below the prior-year level.

Based on the forecasts for the two business segments, Beiersdorf expects Group sales to grow by 3–4% in 2016. The consolidated EBIT margin from operations should slightly exceed the prior-year figure.