Henkel increased Group sales to around 10.9 billion euros in the first half of 2022. This corresponds to significant organic sales growth of +8.9 percent. This positive development was driven by all business units and regions. As expected, the earnings in the first half of the year were impacted by the drastic rise in material and logistics prices. Despite significant price increases, strict cost management and further efficiency improvements these effects could not fully be compensated.

“In a very challenging environment, sales performance in the first six months exceeded the previous expectations for the full year, while earnings developed in line with our Group guidance for fiscal 2022. In view of this development, we have raised our full-year guidance for organic sales growth for the Group and confirmed our guidance for the EBIT margin and earnings per preferred share”, said Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel.

“We are consistently advancing our strategy for purposeful growth and made good progress in implementation in the first half of 2022 – thanks above all to the strong commitment of our employees worldwide. With our Adhesive Technologies business, we are a global leader in providing innovative solutions, focusing on future trends such as mobility, connectivity and sustainability. By combining the Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care consumer businesses, we are now creating a multicategory platform with sales of around 10 billion euros. We are well on track and aim to have our future Consumer Brands business established latest by the beginning of 2023. The combined unit will offer a broader base to optimize our portfolio more consistently and will advance the business to a higher growth and margin profile.”

Outlook for fiscal 2022 updated

Henkel now expects organic sales growth of +4.5 to +6.5 percent in fiscal 2022 (previously: +3.5 to +5.5 percent). Organic sales growth of +8.0 to +10.0 percent is still expected for the Adhesive Technologies business unit. For Beauty Care, Henkel now anticipates organic sales growth of -3.0 to -1.0 percent (previously: -5.0 to -3.0 percent). For the Laundry & Home Care business unit, Henkel now expects organic sales growth of +4.0 to +6.0 percent (previously: +2.0 to +4.0 percent). Adjusted EBIT margin at Group level is expected to remain unchanged in the range of 9.0 to 11.0 percent. For the development of adjusted earnings per preferred share (EPS) at constant exchange rates, Henkel continues to expect a decline in the range of -35 to -15 percent.

Exit of operations in Russia and Belarus in execution

In April 2022, Henkel decided to exit its business activities in Russia and Belarus. Henkel is thoroughly assessing all options and intends to have completed the process by the end of the year.