FRANKFURT--German consumer products maker Henkel & Co. KGaA
(HEN.XE) said revenue and adjusted earnings improved in the third
quarter, due to above-average growth in emerging markets.
"We increased organic sales in all our business units and
further improved our profitability," Henkel Chief Executive Kasper
Rorsted said, referring to sales adjusted for currency effects and
acquisitions.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax rose to 693 million
euro ($864 million), up 3.1% from EUR672 million in the third
quarter of 2013, and above analysts' expectations of EUR674
million. Henkel makes Schwarzkopf hair care products, Persil
laundry detergent and other goods.
Revenue rose to EUR4.24 billion, up 1.2% from the year earlier
quarter, amid improvement in its three units, laundry & home
care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
Despite a challenging outlook in Russia and the Middle East, the
company affirmed its outlook for a 3%-5% rise in organic sales this
year. It tweaked its EBIT margin guidance higher, to just under
16.0% from a previous forecast of 15.5%.
That compares favorably to others in the industry.
Earlier this month, German peer Beiersdorf AG (BIE.XE), which
makes products such as Nivea skin cream, confirmed its outlook for
2014--a slightly better EBIT margin and sales growth of 4% to 6%.
But rivals elsewhere, such as L'Oreal SA (OR.FR), reported sluggish
revenue growth for the quarter, hit by weakness in western Europe,
and said 2014 will be its weakest year since 2009. Likewise, the
maker of Dove products, Unilever NV (UN), cited slowing global
demand in the quarter.
Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at
monica.houston-waesch@wsj.com
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