--Henkel's organic sales grew in the third quarter, according to preliminary figures

--Organic sales are expected to decline in fiscal-2020 due to the coronavirus hit

--Shares trade 2% higher following the preliminary results and revised outlook 


 
   By Giulia Petroni

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA said Friday that it registered solid growth across all segments in the third quarter, but expects sales to decline in the fiscal year due to the effects of the pandemic on business and demand.

The German consumer-goods company said that preliminary figures show quarterly organic sales rose 3.9% on year--excluding the impact of currency effects and acquisitions or divestments--following a recovery in demand compared to the previous quarter.

"Sales reached around 5 billion euros ($5.88 billion) and all business units contributed to the good performance," said Chief Executive Carsten Knobel.

The laundry-and-home-care segment registered an organic sales growth of 7.7% in the quarter, according to Henkel. Organic sales reached a 4.3% growth in the beauty-care unit, while adhesive-technologies posted a 1.3% growth.

The company, however, said it expects organic sales to fall between 1% and 2% in the fiscal year at the group level, as it sees industrial demand and business activity in its core areas to be below the previous year's levels.

"We expect to feel the negative effects of the pandemic in the fourth quarter as well, but in our forecast for the year we are not assuming a further extensive lockdown," said Mr. Knobel.

The adhesive-technologies business unit is expected to be hit significantly, with a 5.5% to 6.5% decline in organic sales, while beauty care is anticipated to register an organic sales decline in the range of between 2% and 3%. Laundry and home care is expected to post organic growth between 4.5% and 5.5%.

Henkel also said that it forecasts an earnings before interest and taxes margin in a range between 13.0% and 13.5% in the fiscal year. Adjusted earnings per preferred share at constant exchange rates are expected to decline between 18% and 22%.

The company is scheduled to release third-quarter results on Nov. 10.

At 0848GMT, shares trade 2% higher at EUR93.86.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-09-20 0503ET