Beiersdorf Sales, Net Profit Rise, Helped by Nivea Product Line

By Sarah Sloat

Beiersdorf said its first-half sales and net profit grew, helped by demand for its Nivea skin-care products, though weakness in China hurt luxury line La Prairie.

The Hamburg-based company said Wednesday that sales grew to 5.175 billion euros ($5.66 billion) in the first half from EUR4.94 billion in the same period a year earlier. Earnings before interest and taxes, excluding special factors, declined to EUR838 million from EUR852 million, while after-tax profit rose slightly to EUR590 million from EUR589 million.

The company's EBIT margin before special factors declined to 16.2% from 17.3%.

Beiersdorf, which makes adhesives in addition to skin-care products, said EBIT was helped by a better gross margin, but a shift in investment into the first six months weighed on results.

Nivea sales posted double-digit growth, but luxury brand La Prairie sales fell 7% due to a challenging luxury market, particularly in China, the company said.

Beiersdorf stuck to its outlook for the year. It expects organic sales growth for 2024 of 6% to 8% and its EBIT margin excluding special factors slightly above last year's.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2024 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.