Middle East sales boost Persil maker Henkel

All three of multinational's business units post growth

Henkel's Dubai offices. The German firm has had a strong second quarter. Courtesy Henkel

The multinational consumer and industrial group Henkel said an increase in sales in the Middle East and Africa helped the German firm post strong second-quarter growth in all three of its business units.

The maker of well known brands such as Persil detergents, Schwarzkopf beauty care products and Loctite glue, which is listed in the German stock index DAX, said it reached new highs in quarterly sales, adjusted operating profit and ebit margin, and increased earnings per preferred share.

Henkel said the Middle East and Africa region posted an organic sales growth of 1.1 per cent while total sales in the second half 2017 reached an all-time high of €5.09 billion (Dh22.55bn), and grew nominally by 9.6 per cent compared with the same period last year.

“All three of our business units contributed to the positive growth we witnessed in Q2,” said the Henkel chief executive Hans Van Bylen. "As a result, adjusted earnings per preferred share showed a double-digit growth.”

The western Europe region reported organic sales fell 1.2 per cent, Henkel said, but all other regions recorded positive organic sales growth. Sales in North America increased by 3.2 per cent. In Eastern Europe, sales grew by 5.2 per cent. Latin America achieved a sales growth of 6.1 per cent and in the Asia-Pacific region, sales surged by 4.8 per cent.

Henkel confirmed its outlook for the fiscal year 2017 and said it expected to generate organic sales growth of 2 to 4 per cent for each business unit. For adjusted return on sales ebit, Henkel expects an increase of more than 17 per cent over last year. It said it expected an increase in adjusted earnings per preferred share of between 7 and 9 per cent.