Henkel raises profits as flagship brands shine

After a modest sales growth in 2024, Henkel expects a faster growth in the second half of the year. Profits should increase significantly as the integration of the consumer brands division is ahead of schedule.

Moderate outlook

Last year, Henkel only managed to increase its sales by 0.3 % to 21.6 billion euros, although organic growth was 2.6 %. The company points to the impact of exchange rate effects and the divestment of its Russian activities in 2023. Adjusted EBIT rose by almost 21 % to 3.1 billion euros.

The German company expects a moderate sales growth for this year as well, after a slow start due to geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty and weak consumer confidence. However, it hopes its sales will accelerate in the second half of the year, when more innovations are also planned.

Flagship brands

The integration of all consumer brands into a new division, which was announced at the beginning of 2022, is ahead of schedule. The first phase of the integration, which mainly consisted of merging the sales and marketing teams, was completed in 2024. The full cost savings from improving the supply chain will come into fruition by the end of this year.

This division groups some of Henkel’s strongest brands in this division: the ten flagship brands within the “Consumer Brands” division, which accounted for more than half of sales in 2024, achieved a very strong organic growth, according to the company.