Hamburg, August 6, 2020 – Beiersdorf AG, Hamburg, recorded a decline in sales in the first half of 2020 as a result of the continued global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organic Group sales fell by 10.7% in the first six months of the year. At €3,449 million, nominal sales were down 10.1% year on year (previous year: €3,837 million). The Group achieved earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and special factors of €472 million (previous year: €593 million). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of 13.7%, compared with 15.4% in the previous year.
“In this extremely turbulent year, our business has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire skin care market significantly declined and, as a consequence, the effect on sales was clearly felt in the first half of 2020. However, Beiersdorf was able to grow shares in this challenging market environment. This demonstrates the strength of our trusted iconic brands, our ability to react to rapidly changing consumer demand and the resilience of our people and the organization. From the very beginning of the crisis, we have focused on ensuring the health and safety of our employees, on continuing to serve our consumers, and on supporting vulnerable communities, for which we continue to deliver on our €50 million international aid program to support society’s long term fight against COVID-19,” says Stefan De Loecker, CEO of Beiersdorf AG. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unfortunately not over yet and the situation remains exceptionally volatile. But as we are determined to emerge stronger from this unparalleled crisis, we are continuing to further invest in the initiatives of our C.A.R.E.+ strategy.”