A logo of German chemical firm Henkel AG, taken on the factory premises in Duesseldorf. (zu dpa: «Germany’s Henkel posts surprise sales growth in Q1, beats estimates») Jan-Philipp Strobel/dpa
German consumer goods company Henkel on Thursday posted a strong start to the year, with sales growth beating expectations in the first quarter.
Organic Group sales came in at around €5 billion ($5.8 billion), an increase of 1.7%, the Dusseldorf-based firm said in a statement.
Including foreign currency effects as well as acquisitions and divestments, group sales dropped 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year.
“In a challenging environment, we delivered good organic sales growth in the first quarter, driven by both business units. We achieved price and volume growth in both Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands,” said Henkel chief executive Carsten Knobel, confirming the company’s annual targets.
Henkel’s first quarter turned out better than feared, said Warren Ackerman, an analyst at British investment bank Barclays. The company only reports financial results on a half-yearly basis.
Henkel is primarily known in Germany for health care products including Fa showering gel and Persil laundry detergent. Demand for hair care products was particularly high in the first quarter, the company said.
For the current year, Henkel continues to expect sales growth of between 1% and 3%, excluding currency and portfolio effects, with a number of acquisitions expected to boost business.