Each year, the renowned US business magazine Fortune publishes its survey of the world's highest-revenue companies in the form of the Fortune Global 500. And this time, Henkel has taken position number 448, which means that the internationally active consumer goods manufacturer has moved up 20 places, achieving its best ranking since 2001.

Henkel also appears for the first time in the roll of companies achieving the biggest improvement in profitability, taking 36th position. In the "Household and Personal Products" category, Henkel was able to trade places with US company Kimberly-Clark, taking 3rd place behind Procter & Gamble and L’Oréal.

The Fortune Global 500 is an annual ranking of the 500 international companies with the highest sales, almost all of which are listed on the stock exchanges around the world. The survey has been published in its present form since 1995 and includes not only industrial corporations but also banks, insurance companies and financial service providers.

This year’s ranking based on revenues generated in fiscal 2008 is headed by Royal Dutch Shell with 458 billion US dollars, followed by ExxonMobil with 443 billion and Wal-Mart with 406 billion. The USA leads with a total of 140 companies in the roll, followed by Japan with 68 and then France with 40. Germany holds fourth place with a total of 39.