Sales of Nivea, Eucerin increase during first half of 2014 at Beiersdorf

HAMBURG, Germany — Beiersdorf released results for the first half of the year and recorded a lift in sales of Nivea and Eucerin brands in the consumer business segment.



The consumer business segment recorded organic sales growth of 5% in the first half of the year. The strong euro led to a reduction in this figure of 5.1 percentage points as a result of negative effects from currency translation, the company stated. Structural changes reduced growth by 0.1 percentage points. In nominal terms, sales therefore decreased by 0.2% to €2,637 million.



Nivea sales rose by 6.1% compared with the previous year. In the first half of 2014, Eucerin continued its strong sales performance of the previous year, recording a 6.8% increase in sales. La Prairie recorded sales growth of 7.0%.



Consumer sales in the Americas were down 4% on the previous year (€464 million), due to exchange rate changes for the U.S. dollar and the key South American currencies. Organic sales in the Americas region rose by 4.8%. Sales in North America were up 4.2% on the previous year.



Organic group sales in the first half of the year were up 5.0% on the prior year. Growth was reduced by 4.8 percentage points due to exchange rate effects. Nominal group sales were up 0.2% on the previous year, at €3,171 million (previous year: €3,163 million). The consumer business segment recorded organic growth of 5.0%, while sales grew organically by 5.4%.



Looking ahead, the company stated that it expect slightly higher growth in the United States economy in 2014. Alongside increased consumer spending due to a lower unemployment rate, it anticipates higher public spending.