Investor Relations News

• Strengthening focus on innovative branded consumer business
• Closing divestment of non-core business with limited future strategic fit
• Concluding announced portfolio optimization as part of Consumer Brands integration

• Strong business performance in fiscal 2024
  • Sales: 21.6 billion euros, good organic growth of 2.6 percent
  • Operating profit ‏(EBIT)*: 3.1 billion euros, very significant increase of 20.9 percent
  • EBIT margin*: 14.3 percent, outstanding improvement by 240 basis points
  • Earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS)* significantly higher: 5.36 euros, +25.1 percent at constant exchange rates
  • Strong free cash flow of 2.4 billion euros
• Dividend increase in the double-digit percentage range proposed: 2.04 euros per preferred share ‏(+10.3 percent)
• New share buyback of up to 1 billion euros decided
• Implementation of Purposeful Growth Agenda further progressed
  • Consumer Brands: Integration faster than planned, portfolio measures finalized, full savings to be realized already by end of 2025
  • Adhesive Technologies: New set-up implemented in 2023 is paying off
  • Ambitious climate protection targets: net-zero roadmap defined
• Outlook for fiscal 2025: Poised for further top- and bottom line growth – with slow start into the year and acceleration in the course of the year
  • Organic sales growth: 1.5 to 3.5 percent
  • EBIT margin*: 14.0 to 15.5 percent
  • Earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS)*: Increase in the low to high single-digit percentage range ‏(at constant exchange rates)

The Management Board of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA resolved at its meeting today, with the approval of the Shareholders' Committee, to launch a share buyback program with a total value of up to 1 billion euros. Henkel preferred shares with a total value of up to 800 million euros and ordinary shares with a total value of up to 200 million euros are to be repur­chased ‏(for each excluding additional costs). Based on current stock market prices, this corresponds to a share of about 2.7 percent of the company's capital stock.

• Climate action: reduction of CO₂ emissions in production per ton of product by 64 percent (base year: 2017)
• Circular economy: use of recycled plastic in consumer goods packaging rises to 25 percent
• Equal opportunities: significantly more employees take parental leave in 2024; share of women in management climbs to 42 percent
• Fair working conditions: new additional assessment introduced to ensure living wages worldwide 
• Governance: first sustainability report applying all content requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards ‏(ESRS) 

• Strengthening focus on innovative branded consumer business
• Divestment of non-core business with limited future strategic fit
• Concluding announced portfolio optimization as part of Consumer Brands integration

• Group sales rise to around 5.5 billion euros, +3.3 percent organic growth
• Organic sales increase driven by both business units:
  • Adhesive Technologies achieves strong organic growth of +3.7 percent
  • Consumer Brands reports good organic sales growth of +2.7 percent
• Ambitious climate protection targets expanded through net-zero roadmap: Greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced to net-zero by 2045
• Sales and earnings guidance for fiscal 2024 reiterated – clear chance to reach upper half of earnings ranges

In line with its ambitions for sustainability within its agenda for purposeful growth, Henkel has defined a net-zero roadmap, substantially extending its targets for emissions reduction along the value chain. To achieve net-zero, the company has set the following targets:

• Group sales grow organically by 2.9 percent in the first half of the year to around 10.8 billion euros ‏(nominal -1.0 percent) – growth in both business units
• Operating profit ‏(EBIT)*: very strong increase to 1,610 million euros ‏(+28.4 percent)
• EBIT margin* also improves very strongly to 14.9 percent ‏(+340 basis points)
• Earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS)* increase by around a third to 2.78 euros, +32.9 percent at constant exchange rates
• Very good free cash flow of around 800 million euros
• Further progress in implementing strategic growth agenda
• Earnings outlook for fiscal 2024 already raised in mid-July:
  • Organic sales growth: 2.5 to 4.5 percent ‏(unchanged)
  • Adjusted return on sales: 13.5 to 14.5 percent ‏(previously: 13.0 to 14.0 percent)
  • Adjusted earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS): increase in the range of +20.0 to +30.0 percent at constant exchange rates ‏(previously: +15.0 to +25.0 percent)
• Mid- to long-term financial ambition already to be reached mid-term

Henkel today published its preliminary figures for the first half of 2024. Sales amounted to 10,813 million euros. This corresponds to good organic sales growth of 2.9 percent. In particular, the adjusted return on sales and adjusted earnings per share exceeded market expectations: The adjusted return on sales (adjusted EBIT margin) rose to 14.9 percent (previous year: 11.5 percent). Adjusted earnings per preferred share amounted to 2.78 euros in the first half of 2024. At constant exchange rates, this represents an increase of 32.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Due to the very strong development so far and factoring in the expected business development in the remainder of the year Henkel has raised its outlook for the earnings development in 2024. This is mainly due to higher profit expectations in the Consumer Brands business unit, while at the same time increasing investments in marketing to support innovations. The outlook still considers the expectation of higher prices for direct materials in the second half of the year. 

• Group sales: around 5.3 billion euros, organic growth of 3.0 percent
• Organic sales increase driven by both business units:
  • Adhesive Technologies: positive organic sales growth of 1.3 percent
  • Consumer Brands: very strong organic sales growth of 5.2 percent
• Acquisitions of Seal for Life Industries and Vidal Sassoon in China closed earlier than anticipated
• Further progress in implementing strategic growth agenda
• Outlook for fiscal 2024 significantly raised on May 3:
  • Organic sales growth: 2.5 to 4.5 percent ‏(previously: 2.0 to 4.0 percent)
  • Adjusted return on sales: 13.0 to 14.0 percent ‏(previously: 12.0 to 13.5 percent)
  • Adjusted earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS): Increase in the range of +15.0 to +25.0 percent at constant exchange rates ‏(previously: +5.0 to +20.0 percent)