Henkel reported that in the second quarter of 2015, sales once again rose double-digit by 13.5 percent to 4,695 million euros.
Article continues below
Adjusted for positive foreign exchange effects of 7.3 percent, sales improved by 6.2 percent. Organically – i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments – sales rose by 2.4 percent.
The Laundry & Home Care business unit recorded solid organic sales growth of 4.3 percent. In the Beauty Care business unit a positive increase in organic sales of 1.9 percent was achieved. The Adhesive Technologies business unit also posted a positive improvement in organic sales of 1.7 percent.
After one-time gains, one-time charges and restructuring charges, adjusted operating profit improved by 14.0 percent, from 674 million euros to 768 million euros. Reported operating profit (EBIT) grew by 21.4 percent, from 589 million euros to 715 million euros.
Adjusted return on sales increased by 0.1 percentage points to 16.4 percent. Reported return on sales rose by 1.0 percentage points from 14.2 percent to 15.2 percent.
Henkel’s financial result of -11 million euros was at the level of the prior-year quarter. The tax rate amounted to 24.6 percent (prior-year quarter: 22.8 percent).
Adjusted net income for the quarter, after deducting non-controlling interests, increased by 11.8 percent from 499 million euros to 558 million euros.
Reported net income for the quarter grew by 19.1 percent from 446 million euros to 531 million euros. After deducting 10 million euros attributable to non-controlling interests, quarterly net income increased to 521 million euros (prior-year quarter: 441 million euros).
Adjusted earnings per preferred share (EPS) rose by 11.2 percent from 1.16 euros to 1.29 euros. Reported EPS increased from 1.02 euros to 1.20 euros.
Net working capital relative to sales increased year-on-year by 0.6 percentage points to 6.6 percent. The rise is primarily due to acquisitions and foreign exchange effects. ■