Henkel, the maker of Loctite glue and Schwarzkopf hair products, has posted sales of €20.029 billion in 2017, representing nominal growth of 7% and organic growth of 3.1%.
This was the first time that the consumer goods company achieved sales of more than €20 billion, with EBIT margin also reaching a new high, increasing by 40 basis points to 17.3%.
Organic sales were up in the company's adhesive technologies business (+5%), as well as beauty care (+0.5%), and laundry and home care (2%).
Emerging markets made an above-average contribution to the group's performance, with organic sales growth of 5.3%, while mature markets were up by 1.5%.
Financial Targets
"Despite challenging and volatile market conditions, we reached new record levels in sales and earnings and achieved our financial targets for the year," said Henkel CEO Hans Van Bylen.
“We focused on the implementation of our strategic priorities and achieved substantial progress with many key initiatives and projects. In the course of the year, we also made several attractive acquisitions which will complement and further strengthen our portfolio.”
During the year, Henkel completed its acquisitions of Darex Packaging Technologies and the Sonderhoff Group, adding to its existing adhesive-technology portfolio, and also announced plans to buy Zotos International, the North American professional hair care business of Shiseido Company, for $485 million.
Looking ahead, Henkel has reconfirmed its financial ambitions for 2020, including organic sales growth of 2-4%, continued increase in adjusted EBIT margin, and adjusted EPS growth of 7-9%.
“Going forward, we will continue to focus on sustainable profitable growth with attractive returns," said Van Bylen. "We are committed to deliver on our financial ambition 2020.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
