Beiersdorf has increased its guidance for 2023 following organic sales growth of 12.3% in the first half of the financial year.
The German multinational’s sales reached €4.9bn, up from €4.5bn in H1 2022, with the company also noting an accelerating growth in volumes, despite prices hikes earlier in the year.
Earnings before interest and taxes excluding special factors, meanwhile, were €852 m in H1, an increase on €710m in the prior year.
Within its Consumer business segment, Beiersdorf’s growth momentum was pushed by Nivea, as well as its derma labels Eucerin and Aquaphor.
According to the company, Nivea (including the lip balm brand Labello) grew in all regions and categories by 18.4% year-on-year in organic terms to hit €2.7bn, while the derma brands saw sales spike 26% to €663m.
It singled out sun protection as an especially strong performance segment for Nivea, Eucerin and Aquaphor; demand for the derma brands’ sun protection products was exceptionally high in the Americas, added Beiersdorf.
Their growth helped lessen the impact of a 9.9% drop in sales for the Beiersdorf-owned luxury brand La Prairie in the first six months.
Beiersdorf attributed this decline to disruption in the Asian travel retail market caused by ‘daigou’ business, which purchase goods abroad on behalf of domestic customers, offering them tax and price advantages over domestic retailers.
Overall, organic sales for Beiersdorf’s Consumer category grew 14.9% in the period.
The company’s Healthcare business, comprising mostly plaster brands, saw organic sales growth of 5.4%, while the group’s Tesa self-adhesives company grew 1.2% in organic terms from January to June 2023.
Based on its H1 results, Beiersdorf has slightly increased its sales forecast for 2023 as a whole.
In its Consumer business, Beiersdorf now expects 2023 organic sales growth in the high single-digit to low double-digit range.
“We not only continued our growth path but also significantly increased our profitability in the first half of the year,” said Beiersdorf CEO Vincent Warnery.
“Our Consumer business outperformed the market in terms of growth.
“Both Nivea and the derma brands grew strongly in all regions and categories and more than offset the weaker performance of our luxury business.”
He added: “These positive results give us confidence for the next months, even though we still expect headwinds in some areas.”
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