Beiersdorf Sales Rise 6.5%; China Still Drags

Nivea maker Beiersdorf reported on Thursday a rise in group sales for the first nine months of 2024, and said it expected a strong fourth quarter, despite persisting challenges in the Chinese luxury market.

Shares in the company rose 3.9 percent, to €132 in early trade, with analysts pointing to management confidence in the quarters ahead.

Nine-month sales rose 6.5 percent organically to €7.55 billion ($8.15 billion) from €7.26 billion a year earlier, helped by a rebound in North America and growth in its skincare segment.

“We expect strong performance overall in the fourth quarter,” chief executive Vincent Warnery said in a statement, flagging however that the luxury market, especially in China, continues to be challenging.

A slowdown in Chinese consumer demand amid a weak economy has hit the luxury sector, which is reliant on discretionary spending, weighing on quarterly sales at French peer L’Oreal and industry bellwether LVMH among others.

Sales in Beiersdorf’s luxury brand La Prairie dropped by 7.3 percent in organic terms in the first three quarters, driven by the continued weakness of the Greater China region, and its negative impact on the travel retail market, the company said.

Warnery said the company expects no recovery in the brand in the fourth quarter, but is optimistic about 2025, and pointed to current strong growth in Japan and opportunities in the US.

La Prairie accounted for 7 percent of total sales in 2023.

Aside from weaker consumer spending in China, the company is also grappling with parallel trading, as shoppers increasingly turn to secondhand and grey markets amid price hikes and economic pressures. Warnery said Beiersdorf is taking legal action to combat copycat products.

Elsewhere, the company’s core brands have remained resilient. Sales in the overall consumer segment rose 7.3 percent to €6.3 billion in the first nine months of 2024.

This was helped by double-digit growth rates for the skincare brands Eucerin and Aquaphor in North America and strong Nivea sales in emerging markets in the third quarter, the company said.

Beiersdorf still expects organic sales growth of 6-8 percent in 2024 and margin on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), excluding special factors, to be slightly above the previous year’s level.

“Given weak results and nervous commentary elsewhere in beauty this results season we think that the [management’s] positive tone ... is likely to be well received,” analysts at Barclays wrote in a note to clients.

By Elizaveta Gladun, Linda Pasquini and Matthias Inverardi; Editors: Rachel More, Lincoln Feast and Jacqueline Wong

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Nivea Maker Beiersdorf’s Sales Grow Despite China’s Luxury Slowdown

Beiersdorf reported 7.1 percent organic sales growth for the first half of the year on Wednesday, driven by double-digit percentage growth in its flagship skincare brand Nivea.