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Henkel posted consolidated sales of around 5.2\u00a0billion euros in the first quarter of 2025, compared to around 5.3\u00a0billion euros in the same quarter last year. Organic sales were down -1.0\u00a0percent compared to the prior-year quarter. The development was mainly due to the challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, which has significantly increased since the start of the year. This affected both industrial demand and consumer sentiment \u2013 particularly in North America. Nevertheless, sales in Adhesive Technologies increased organically supported by a balanced price and volume mix. As expected, sales were below the prior year in Consumer Brands, also due to strong comparables and challenges in the supply chain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201dAs stated back in March when we released our full year 2024 figures, sales in the new fiscal year got off to a rather muted start. At the same time, we have continued to achieve strong gross and EBIT margins, plus we have kept working consistently and successfully on implementing our strategic growth agenda. We finished divesting the Retailer Brands business in North America earlier than expected, thus successfully completing the portfolio optimization program in our Consumer Brands business unit that we announced at the start of 2022. This means we can now focus all our attention on growing our branded consumer goods business with innovations featuring technologies that offer relevant added value to consumers,\u201d said Henkel CEO Carsten Knobel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cVolatility and uncertainty in the global markets have significantly increased since the start of the year. The targets set for the current fiscal year remain unchanged and we continue to expect\u00a0further organic sales growth and a progressive improvement in earnings in 2025. We continue to expect a stronger second half of the year, with contributions also coming from our innovations, which we will introduce into the market backed by continued investments in our brands. At the same time, we expect strong gross and EBIT\u00a0margins. The development we\u2019ve seen in the first three months of the current fiscal year shows that we\u2019re on the right track in this regard. This demonstrates that we have a clear and consistently implemented strategy and that we are delivering on our promises.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The positive organic sales performance in the Adhesive Technologies<\/strong> business unit in the first quarter was driven primarily by strong growth in the Mobility & Electronics business area. The decline in organic sales in the Consumer Brands\u00a0<\/strong>business unit was in particular due to subdued consumer sentiment, customer destocking and supply chain challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Group sales<\/strong> in the first quarter of 2025\u00a0<\/strong>totaled 5,242\u00a0million euros; a nominal<\/strong> decrease of -1.4\u00a0percent compared to the prior-year quarter (5,317\u00a0million euros). Organically<\/strong> (i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions\/divestments), sales decreased by\u00a0-1.0\u00a0percent. This\u00a0development was expected and reflects the current challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, which affects both industrial demand and consumer sentiment \u2013 particularly in North America. While organic sales performance at Group level was supported by a positive price component, volumes were below the level of the previous year. Acquisitions\/divestments accounted for a\u00a01.1\u00a0percent increase in sales. Conversely, foreign exchange effects had a negative impact on sales performance amounting to\u00a0-1.4\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Organic sales growth in the Europe<\/strong> region amounted to\u00a0-2.0\u00a0percent in the first quarter. In the IMEA<\/strong> region, sales increased organically by\u00a04.6\u00a0percent. Organic sales performance was negative in North America<\/strong> at\u00a0-5.6\u00a0percent. In Latin America<\/strong>, organic sales growth was\u00a01.5\u00a0percent above that of the prior-year quarter. The Asia-Pacific<\/strong> region achieved organic sales growth of\u00a03.6 percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Adhesive Technologies business unit generated sales<\/strong> of 2,715\u00a0million euros in the first quarter of 2025<\/strong>, representing a nominal\u00a0<\/strong>increase of 1.4\u00a0percent compared to the prior-year quarter (2,677\u00a0million euros). Organically\u00a0<\/strong>(i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions\/divestments), sales increased by 1.1\u00a0percent compared to the first quarter of 2024. Both\u00a0price and volume showed positive development. Foreign exchange effects reduced sales by -1.0\u00a0percent. Acquisitions\/divestments had a positive impact of 1.3\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The positive organic sales performance of the Adhesive Technologies business unit in the first quarter was driven primarily by the Mobility & Electronics<\/strong> business area, which achieved strong organic sales growth of 3.1\u00a0percent. This growth was driven by the Electronics and\u00a0Industrials businesses, while the Automotive business declined due to the challenging market environment. At -0.4\u00a0percent, organic sales development in the Packaging & Consumer Goods<\/strong> business area was slightly negative overall. The Packaging business exhibited stable development, supported by a further recovery in demand. The Consumer Goods business posted a slight decline compared to the same quarter last year. Organic sales growth in the Craftsmen, Construction & Professional<\/strong> business area rose by 0.4\u00a0percent over the same quarter of the previous year. Growth was driven in particular by the Consumers & Craftsmen and Construction businesses, which both generated good growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From a regional perspective, the performance of the Adhesive Technologies business unit was mixed overall. In Europe<\/strong>, sales were organically below those in the prior-year quarter, mainly due to the Craftsmen, Construction & Professional business area. In a market environment that was generally challenging, the first quarter saw the North America<\/strong> region record declining sales, due primarily to developments in the Mobility & Electronics and Packaging & Consumer Goods business areas. The IMEA\u00a0<\/strong>region posted very strong organic sales growth, driven in particular by a double-digit organic sales increase in the Craftsmen, Construction & Professional business area. The Latin America\u00a0<\/strong>region likewise recorded very strong growth, which was driven primarily by a double-digit sales increase in the Mobility & Electronics business area. The Packaging & Consumer Goods and the Craftsmen, Construction & Professional businesses also contributed to this development, with both reporting very strong growth. The Asia-Pacific <\/strong>region recorded significant growth, due in particular to a double-digit increase in sales in the Electronics business in China.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the Consumer Brands business unit, sales<\/strong> in the first quarter of 2025<\/strong> totaled 2,484\u00a0million euros, a nominal<\/strong> decrease of -4.6\u00a0percent versus the prior-year quarter. Organically<\/strong> (i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions\/divestments), sales decreased by -3.5\u00a0percent. The business unit posted good price development compared to the first quarter of 2024, while volumes declined as expected, mainly due to subdued consumer sentiment and retail customer destocking \u2013 especially in North America \u2013 compounded by challenges in the supply chain. Foreign exchange effects had a negative impact of -2.0\u00a0percent on sales, while acquisitions\/divestments had a positive influence of 0.8\u00a0percent on sales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the first quarter, the Laundry & Home Care<\/strong> business area posted a negative organic sales development of -4.1\u00a0percent. The Laundry Care business recorded negative growth caused predominantly by a decline in the Fabric Cleaning category, while the Fabric Care category posted very strong growth. The Home Care business area, by contrast, generated a good\u00a0organic increase in sales, driven mainly by significant sales growth in the Dishwashing category.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Hair<\/strong> business area saw organic sales decline by -1.6\u00a0percent. The Consumer business showed positive growth, which was driven in particular by the Hair Colorants and Hair Styling categories. Overall, the development of the Professional business was below that of the prior year, which was mainly due to a decline in sales as a result of the challenging consumer environment in the North America region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Other Consumer Businesses\u00a0<\/strong>area recorded a decline in organic sales of -6.8\u00a0percent as a result primarily of negative development in the Body Care business in the North America and Europe regions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From a regional perspective, sales development in all regions \u2013 with the exception of IMEA \u2013 was below the previous year\u2019s level. The IMEA\u00a0<\/strong>region posted a good organic sales increase overall, driven by significant organic sales growth in the Hair business area and good development in the Laundry & Home Care business area. Europe<\/strong>, on the other hand, experienced a decline due to developments in the Laundry & Home Care business area, while the Hair\u00a0business area showed good growth. Sales growth in the North America<\/strong> and Asia-Pacific\u00a0<\/strong>regions was below the previous year\u2019s level across all business areas. The performance of the Latin America<\/strong> region as a whole was below that of the prior year due to developments in the Laundry & Home Care business area. The Hair business area, by contrast, posted very strong organic sales development.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No substantial changes to the net assets and financial position of the Group occurred in the period under review compared to the situation as at December 31, 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For the current year, Henkel continues to expect organic sales growth<\/strong> of between 1.5 and 3.5\u00a0percent. For the Adhesive Technologies business unit, organic sales growth in the range of 2.0 to 4.0\u00a0percent is expected. For Consumer Brands, we anticipate an organic sales increase of 1.0 to 3.0\u00a0percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Adjusted return on sales \u200f<\/span>(adjusted EBIT margin)<\/strong> is still expected to be in the range of\u00a014.0 to 15.5\u00a0percent. Adjusted return on sales is anticipated to be between 16.0 and 17.5\u00a0percent for Adhesive Technologies and between 13.5 and 15.0\u00a0percent for Consumer Brands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Adjusted<\/strong>\u00a0earnings per preferred share \u200f<\/span>(EPS)\u00a0<\/strong>at constant exchange rates are still expected to increase in the low to high single-digit percentage range.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Furthermore, we continue to have the following expectations for 2025:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This document contains statements referring to future business development, financial performance and other events or developments of future relevance for Henkel that may constitute forward-looking statements. Statements with respect to the future are characterized by the use of words such as expect, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, and similar terms. Such statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by the corporate management of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. These statements are not to be understood as in any way guaranteeing that those expectations will turn out to be accurate. Future performance and results actually achieved by Henkel AG & Co. KGaA and its affiliated companies depend on a number of risks and uncertainties and may therefore differ materially \u200f<\/span>(both positively and negatively) from forward-looking statements. Many of these factors are outside Henkel\u2019s control and cannot be accurately estimated in advance, such as the future economic environment and the actions of competitors and others involved in the marketplace. Henkel neither plans nor undertakes to update forward-looking statements.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This document includes supplemental financial indicators that are not clearly defined in the applicable financial reporting framework and that are or may be alternative performance measures. These supplemental financial indicators should not be viewed in isolation or as alternatives to measures of Henkel\u2019s net assets and financial position or results of operations as presented in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework in its Consolidated Financial Statements. Other companies that report or describe similarly titled alternative performance measures may calculate them differently.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This document has been issued for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment advice or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGroup sales performance<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n\nAdhesive Technologies sales performance<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\nConsumer Brands sales performance<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\n\n\nNet assets and financial position of the Group<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
\nOutlook for the Henkel Group<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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