Henkel Serbia opened a Bref factory in Kruševac, Serbia, to produce Bref toilet-care products that will be supplied to more than 20 regional and European markets. The investment in the Eastern European country is worth almost 30 million euros.

Record numbers for Bref Power Activ: Since its market launch in 2010, Henkel has produced 1,000,000,000 packs of the rimblock. In its four-in-one balls format, the innovation’s success has, in the meantime, spread to over 50 countries worldwide.

Together with its supplier Ampacet, a global provider of masterbatch, Henkel is developing an innovative solution for black plastic packaging that is fully recyclable. The new packaging material uses an alternative carbon-free black color, enabling used bottles to be integrated back into the value chain. It will be introduced for black bottles of toilet cleaning products under the Bref brand in May, followed by further Henkel products in the course of this year.

Henkel is reaching a milestone in its engagement for sustainable packaging: The company used almost 700 million bottles made of 100 percent recycled plastics for Laundry & Home Care products in Europe – more than 400 million alone in 2020. The recycled material stems from post-consumer waste, including Social Plastic^® from Henkel’s partnership with the Plastic Bank. By increasing the number of packaging made of recycled material, Henkel does not only contribute to a circular economy but also to climate protection: Recycled PET has an almost 80 percent lower CO₂ footprint compared to virgin plastic.

For the 14th time, Henkel recognized its top suppliers for their industry-leading performance in 2020. The event took place on January 25 – for the first time fully virtually – with more than 300 registered participants. The partners were awarded in five categories. Evonik was honored with the “Sustainability Award” by Henkel Beauty Care. Stepan received the “Sustainability Award” by Laundry & Home Care. Innospec was awarded as “Best Innovation Contributor” by Beauty Care while Laundry & Home Care honored Novozymes in this category. The winner of the “Best Supply Performance” was BASF.

• Group sales impacted by COVID-19 pandemic: nominal -0.8%, organic -0.9%
• Adhesive Technologies sales decrease in sharply declining industrial business environment: nominal -4.3%, organic -4.1%
• Beauty Care sales lower due to significantly negative Hair Salon business: nominal -2.6%, organic -3.9%
• Laundry & Home Care posts very strong increase in sales: nominal 5.3%, organic 5.5%
• Differentiated regional sales development: emerging markets 2.2%, mature markets -2.8%

• Group sales grow organically by 3.9% to around 5 billion euros; nominal -1.5%
• All business units show positive development:
  • Adhesive Technologies with positive organic sales growth of 1.3%, nominal -4.8%
  • Beauty Care reports very strong organic sales growth of 4.3%, nominal 3.0%
  • Laundry & Home Care achieves significant organic sales growth of 7.7%, nominal 0.7%
• Regional sales development shows a differentiated picture: Emerging markets 8.8%, mature markets 0.6%
• New guidance for fiscal 2020 presented in October

• Group sales show significant organic growth of +7.7 percent to around 5 billion euros, nominal growth of +0.8 percent adversely affected by currency headwinds
• All business units report organic sales growth:
  • Adhesive Technologies with double-digit organic sales growth of +13.0 percent, nominal +6.7 percent
  • Beauty Care reports good organic sales growth of +2.3 percent, nominal -1.1 percent
  • Laundry & Home Care records very strong organic sales growth of +4.1 percent, nominal -5.6 percent
• Emerging markets with double-digit organic sales growth of +18.5 percent, mature markets grow +0.5 percent
• Henkel raises guidance for fiscal 2021:
  • Organic sales growth: +4.0 to +6.0 percent
  • EBIT margin*: 14.0 to 15.0 percent
  • Earnings per preferred share ‏(EPS)*: Increase in the high single-digit to mid-teens percentage range at constant exchange rates