Major regional differences
Consumer-based organic sales growth reached 1.4 % in the January – June 2015 time frame. Nominally, it has even increased 7.3 % to 3.402 billion euro, thanks to the weaker Euro compared to other currencies. Its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached 508 million euro, the best first semester ever for Beiersdorf, while its net profit reached 351 million euro.
European sales equaled the high levels from last year, despite the difficult market conditions in several regions. While there was a 1.4 % drop in Western Europe, sales in Eastern Europe grew 6.4 % as particularly Russia excelled. North American sales grew 4.5 % and Latin American sales even shot up 10.7 %, while sales in Africa/Asia/Australia only increased by 0.6 % – still an improvement over the sales drop in the first quarter.
Beiersdorf expects an overall company-wide growth of about 3 to 5 % for the entire year, while profits should reach slightly above those of last year. “Beiersdorf has continuously increased its effectiveness over the past months. At mid-year, we have exceeded last year’s excellent results. Our business strategy has proven itself in a challenging market environment. We are expecting further accelerating growth in the second half of the year”, Beiersdorf CEO Stefan F. Heidenreich said.
