Solid Half for Henkel

Helped along by the launch of Persil in the US and gains in emerging markets, Henkel's sales rose 13.5% to nearly E4.7 billion for the second quarter of 2015. The Laundry & Home Care business unit recorded organic sales growth of 4.3%, while organic sales rose 1.9% in beauty care.

However, organic sales growth in Henkel's adhesives business, which accounts for half of its group sales, slowed down in the second quarter compared to the first quarter, driven by lower demand in the key North American market.

“We expect the current difficult global economic environment to persist,” Chief Executive Kasper Rorsted said in a statement. Still, Henkel reiterated it expected 2015 organic sales growth of 3-5% and a flat operating profit margin. Specifically, Rorsted said he was encouraged by the upside presented by currency rates.

In its laundry and home care business, the group saw growing sales in North America, helped by increasing appetite of US consumers for its newly launched Persil detergent, which competes with Procter & Gamble's Tide, the market leader.

Looking to reclaim lost ground, Henkel in spring launched its high-end Persil laundry detergent, which is a billion-euro global brand in 60 countries outside the US, through an exclusive tie-in with Walmart.