Henkel Posts Solid Start to Fiscal 2011

Henkel’s sales in the first quarter of 2011 rose 9% to $5.6 million. According to the company, this positive development was supported by all Henkel business sectors. Due in particular to strong volume increases, Laundry & Home Care generated growth of 1.6%, while the Cosmetics/Toiletries sector rose 5.7%.

“Despite the challenging market environment, Henkel reports a solid start to the financial year. We achieved very good organic sales growth, once again outperforming our relevant markets,” said Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted. “All our business sectors contributed to this success and with continued double-digit growth rates we were able to further expand our position in the emerging markets. We are fully committed to our strategic priorities and remain confident of being able to achieve our 2012 targets.”

For the fiscal year 2011, Rorsted provided the following guidance: “With intense competition and rising raw material costs, the economic environment will remain challenging. We will need to continue reviewing our structures to ensure our long-term international competitiveness.” Henkel has slightly raised its expectations for organic sales growth: “We are confident that we will again outperform our relevant markets in 2011 and now expect an increase in organic sales at the upper end of the 3-5% range.”