Hamburg - Group sales at Beiersdorf AG, Hamburg, were down 7.1% organically on the previous year at EUR5,241 million in the first nine months of 2020.

Beiersdorf consequently performed positively in the third quarter compared with the first six months of the year, when sales were down 10.7%. At the same time, it was able to further strengthen its market share in skin care categories.

'The company's results improved significantly in the third quarter. We held our ground well in a skin care market that remains difficult and won market share in all skin care categories.

The dermocosmetics market has proven particularly resilient in this crisis and we achieved strong double-digit sales growth across all regions with our EUCERIN and AQUAPHOR brands thanks to successful innovations,' said Stefan De Loecker, CEO of Beiersdorf AG. 'Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has large parts of the world firmly in its grip. It is still not possible to predict when the situation will improve sustainably. We are in a competitive position in this challenging market environment and are strengthening our position by continually implementing our C.A.R.E.+ strategy.'

Group sales in the reporting period were down 7.1% organically on the previous year. Nominal Group sales fell by 8.5% to EUR5,241 million (previous year: EUR5,725 million). The elimination of exchange rate effects added 2.9 percentage points to the organic growth, while adjusting for structural effects had a negative effect on organic growth of 1.5 percentage points. The Group's performance in the third quarter was much stronger, with organic sales growth of 0.2%.

Sales in the Consumer Business Segment fell organically by 7.7% in the reporting period. In nominal terms, sales fell by 8.9% to EUR4,267 million. The elimination of exchange rate effects added 3.1 percentage points to organic growth, while adjusting for structural effects had a negative effect of 1.9 percentage points.

Brands

Whereas NIVEA recorded a 6.2% fall in sales in the first nine months in a very difficult skin care market, in the third quarter, it performed more positively (-1.0%), mainly due to high demand for shower and personal care products. NIVEA also added market share in all skin care categories, particularly in Brazil, Australia, India, and Indonesia. Without the sun care business, NIVEA achieved growth of 0.5% in the third quarter.

The derma brands EUCERIN and AQUAPHOR achieved very good sales growth of 9.2% in the reporting period and even stronger growth of 15.5% in the third quarter. That was driven mainly by double-digit growth rates in North America and by the continuing success story of the patented ingredient Thiamidol.

After a volatile first half of 2020, the Healthcare business unit, mainly comprising the plaster business, recorded a 4.8% fall in sales in the reporting period. The Healthcare unit increased sales by 1.1% in the third quarter and so is now back on the growth path. Its growth in the third quarter was driven by increasing demand in the wound care and sports categories.

Sales of the LA PRAIRIE brand remained below the previous year's level at -34.5%, mainly due to the lockdowns and the drastic decline in the international travel retail business. Compared with previous quarters, however, the selective cosmetics brand achieved a sequential improvement, in particular in the Asia and Americas regions, recording a 16.9% fall in sales in the third quarter.

Europe

In Western Europe, sales were down 10.8% on the same period of the previous year. This was particularly due to the weak market developments in Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which were especially negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the continued steep fall in sales in LA PRAIRIE's travel retail business. In Eastern Europe, sales fell by 5.5%, particularly driven by Russia while the rest of Eastern Europe showed a mixed performance.

Americas

Organic sales in the Americas region were up 5.1% year on year. In nominal terms, sales grew by 7.3% to EUR876 million (previous year: EUR816 million). The rate of organic growth was 2.2 percentage points below the rate of nominal growth and was calculated by eliminating exchange rate effects (10.4 percentage points) and adjusting for structural effects from the acquisition of the COPPERTONE business (-12.6 percentage points).

In North America, Beiersdorf generated sales growth of 4.1%. Latin America recorded sales growth of 5.9%, driven especially by the continued very good performance in Brazil and Chile.

Africa/Asia/Australia

The Africa/Asia/Australia region reported an 11.4% fall in sales. Nominal sales fell by 15.2% to EUR1,312 million (previous year EUR1,547 million), partly due to the disposal of the SLEK brand. The decline in sales was due to the widespread negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and particularly affected India, Indonesia, and Japan as well as LA PRAIRIE's business.

tesa sales performance

tesa's sales in the first nine months were down year on year. Organic sales at tesa declined by 4.6%. Exchange rate effects added an extra 1.9 percentage points to the decline. tesa recorded sales of EUR974 million in nominal terms, 6.5% below the previous year's level (EUR1,042 million). tesa achieved very good sales growth of 6.2% in the third quarter.

The severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy affected tesa's business in the first nine months of the year. Sales fell at the Direct Industries division, which handles business directly with industrial customers. tesa's sales in the Trade Markets division in the first nine months were only slightly down on the previous year.

In a difficult market environment, the automotive business continued to show a decline in sales. In Asia, organic sales were at the previous year's level. In particular, the electronics business in Asia achieved a year-on-year increase in third-quarter sales.

Group net assets and financial position

There were no significant changes in the Group's net assets and financial position in the reporting period compared with December 31, 2019.

Outlook for 2020

In this continuously volatile environment, we expect sales growth of the Beiersdorf group for the full year 2020 to be at year-to-date level or slightly better. EBIT margins of the Group and of the Consumer Business Segment are expected to be significantly below prior-year level. For tesa, we expect an EBIT margin at around prior-year level.

Contact:

Anke Schmidt

Tel: +49 (0) 40 4909 2001

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