Overall Assessment of the Group’s Economic Position

The Group generated sales of €9,447 million (previous year: €8,799 million). Organic sales were up by 10.8% (previous year: increase of 10.2%). EBIT excluding special factors reached €1,268 million (previous year: €1,158 million). The EBIT margin excluding special factors was 13.4% (previous year: 13.2%).

The Consumer Business Segment can once again look back on a strong fiscal year 2023, on the basis of which we have continued investing heavily in our strategic fields. This includes the important area of digitalization, where the exceptional growth in our e-commerce sales is most notable. The increase in sales here played a significant role in overall growth, particularly in emerging markets. In the area of sustainability, we were able to launch innovative solutions on both the formula and packaging level, thereby significantly advancing our sustainability strategy.

The Consumer Business Segment again achieved double-digit organic sales growth of 12.5% in 2023 (previous year: 10.5%). This again demonstrated that Beiersdorf is strongly positioned with its wide-ranging portfolio. In particular, the strong performance of NIVEA and Derma more than compensated for the weaker performance of our luxury brands.

Our core brand NIVEA achieved double-digit growth in both Skin Care and Personal Care. All relevant sub-categories contributed to this growth. Particularly notable are the exceptional performance of the Skin Care business in the face care , sun care and lip care categories, as well as the growth in Personal Care with the deodorants category. The Derma business with the Eucerin and Aquaphor brands continued its success from previous years and achieved strong growth in both sales and market share. Innovations related to the active ingredient Thiamidol and very healthy e-commerce business were also growth drivers in 2023. Even with the prior year’s strong figures, Healthcare could once again achieve good growth figures, both in established markets such as Germany and Australia and in growth markets such as India and Mexico. Luxury business with the La Prairie and Chantecaille brands can reflect on a difficult year in 2023. In particular, limitations on travel business in China and South Korea resulted in lower sales for both brands. The proactive streamlining of inventories in the second half of the year also had a short-term dampening effect on sales growth. The operating result (EBIT, excluding special items) and the corresponding EBIT margin improved as planned despite significant investments to implement the strategy. The Consumer EBIT margin excluding special factors was 12.9% (previous year: 12.3%).

The tesa Business Segment achieved organic sales growth of 3.2% in 2023 (previous year: 8.8%) amid a continued challenging global market environment. The Industry division, which handles business directly with industrial customers and industry trade, and the Consumer division, which comprises sales to end consumers and tradespeople, both recorded an increase in sales compared to the previous year. In particular, the business areas Automotive, with double-digit growth rates, and Electronics showed positive sales trends. The tesa EBIT margin excluding special factors was 16.0% (previous year: 16.7%).

Geopolitical crises and conflicts had no material impact on Beiersdorf’s earnings, net assets or financial position. In a dynamic and challenging environment, Beiersdorf achieved healthy growth and returns in the fiscal year 2023.