BERLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- German skincare firm Beiersdorf Group's organic sales increased by 4.1 percent in 2019, the company said on Thursday.
According to preliminary figures, in nominal terms sales were up by 5.8 percent to 7.6 billion euros (8,541 million U.S. dollars), said the company.
Beiersdorf had proven its competitiveness in an "increasingly challenging market environment," which particularly impacted its important glue business with its brand tesa, said Stefan De Loecker, chairman of the executive board of Beiersdorf AG.
According to Beiersdorf, its subsidiary tesa had achieved organic sales growth of just 0.8 percent. While sales in tesa's core business remained "stable overall", the company's automotive business had a "weak sales performance in an uncertain market environment."
Nonetheless, Beiersdorf's consumer business segment achieved an organic sales growth of 4.8 percent, which contributed strongly to the overall group result. Main brands, such as NIVEA, Eucerin, Aquaphor and La Prairie were "key drivers of the sales growth," noted Beiersdorf.
Nominal sales in Beiersdorf's consumer business reached 6.3 billion euros in 2019, an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the previous year. In addition to positive exchange rate effects, sales by the newly acquired Coppertone brand also had a positive effect on the figures.
In August last year, Beiersdorf bought Coppertone for 550 million U.S. dollars from the German pharmaceutical company Bayer. Coppertone is a brand for sun care products available in the United States, Canada and China.
For the 2020 financial year, De Loecker expects "headwinds" but sees "good potential and opportunities which we will fully leverage with further investments."
Analyst Celine Pannuti of the U.S. bank J.P. Morgan described the figures as somewhat weaker than expected, but maintained an "overweight" rating with a target price of 118 euros. The disappointing developments at tesa had been a burden, she said, while the company's care products developed well.
Shortly after the start of trading on Thursday, Beiersdorf was among the biggest losers among the 30 largest German companies in the DAX index. Decreasing by 1.59 percent, its shares were trading at just above 105 euros. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollar)
