Hamburg, March 3, 2020 – Beiersdorf AG, Hamburg, increased its sales organically by 4.1% in fiscal year 2019. In nominal terms, sales rose by 5.8%, from €7,233 million to €7,653 million. The Consumer Business Segment increased organic sales by 4.8%. tesa achieved organic sales growth of 0.8% in a difficult market environment. At Group level, underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) declined from €1,113 million in the previous year to €1,108 million. This was due to additional strategic investments that were announced as part of the C.A.R.E.+ strategy. The corresponding underlying EBIT margin was 14.5%, compared with the previous year’s 15.4%. Thanks to an improved effective tax rate and financial result, underlying profit after tax increased by 5.1% from €756 million to €795 million. Underlying earnings per share therefore rose from €3.26 to €3.42.
“We delivered a strong 2019 financial year and high-quality competitive growth. We made significant progress in implementing the priorities of the C.A.R.E.+ strategy, always with our consumers in focus. We are increasing consumer centricity through new digital technologies, and we are gaining consumers’ trust with outstanding skin care innovations and a strong brand portfolio. We are tapping into new growth markets and business areas and fulfilling our consumers’ expectations by making a decisive contribution to more sustainability. However, we are also aware that there is still a lot to do. In some markets, competition will further intensify. While the situation of the coronavirus remains dynamic, its impact on our business is not quantifiable yet. We therefore expect stronger headwinds in 2020. But we are optimistic that, with C.A.R.E.+, we have set the right path to follow through on our development potential in the future with targeted measures and a greater willingness to invest,” said Stefan De Loecker, CEO of Beiersdorf AG.
“It is clear from the positive development of the business, and by looking at the financial results of the past year, that we are on track with our C.A.R.E.+ strategy. We have successfully made the first step on the path to achieving our mid-term plans for 2023 across the key financial indicators. The EBIT development of our Consumer business reflects the increased investments announced as part of C.A.R.E.+. Alongside our sales growth and EBIT performance, we also delivered on our targets for improvements in gross margin, working capital, effective tax rate, and positive net financial results, which gives us confidence for 2020 and beyond,” said CFO Dessi Temperley.