Letter from the CEO
Dear Shareholders and Readers,
2025 was a demanding year. Economic and geopolitical uncertainties, shifting consumer behavior, and continued trade disruptions weighed on market dynamics. Across the industry, growth slowed from double-digit rates to low single digits in several regions, including the emerging markets and Eastern Europe.
In this environment, Beiersdorf continued to grow – not at the pace we had set for ourselves, but with important progress that strengthens our future competitiveness. 2025 was a year we learned from. We maintained our course where it was effective. We changed direction where it was necessary. And our vision remains unchanged: We want to be the best skincare company in the world.
We pursue this vision with our strategy. “Win with Care” is built on three strategic choices: Undisputed Authority in Skincare with trusted, iconic brands and breakthrough innovations, Consumer-facing Omnipresence across markets, channels, and categories, and Performance with Purpose by driving growth while shaping an inclusive and climate-responsible future. These choices shaped our decisions throughout the year and provide context for our operational and financial results. I would therefore like to take a closer look at our business performance in 2025.
Group Performance
Overall, Group sales increased organically by 2.4% to €9,852 million (previous year: 9,850 million). EBIT excluding special factors rose from €1,370 million in 2024 to €1,378 million in the reporting year; the EBIT margin stood at 14.0% (previous year: 13.9%). The Group’s performance reflects the contributions of both the Consumer Business Segment and the tesa Business Segment.
In our Consumer Business Segment we recorded organic sales growth of 2.5% to €8,176 million in 2025 (previous year: €8,162 million). Our Derma and Health Care business showed strong momentum. At the same time, performance in NIVEA and Luxury fell short of our expectations and we are taking concrete steps to improve it.
NIVEA: Restoring Strength Through a Focused Rebalancing
After a strong performance in 2024, NIVEA grew by 0.9% in 2025, a result that did not meet our targets. This reflected a challenging mass‑market environment, the strategic repositioning of our business in China, as well as the timing of our innovation pipeline, with several major launches reaching the market later in the year. As part of this innovation agenda, we introduced Epicelline® to the mass market for the first time with the NIVEA CELLULAR Epigenetics Serum, which became the largest NIVEA face care launch in our history.
Restoring NIVEA’s strength is a key priority for 2026, and we have initiated a targeted rebalancing of the NIVEA portfolio to address these challenges. This NIVEA rebalancing focuses on three strategic priorities:
Broaden the portfolio: While face care remains important, we are now broadening our focus and strengthening categories such as deodorant and body care where NIVEA already has a strong foundation and even greater potential.
Accessible Face Care: We continue to invest in premium innovations with NIVEA Face while ensuring our products remain accessible to the masses – driving growth across both segments. NIVEA is for everyone.
Local Champions: We are increasing local relevance by empowering key markets such as China, the US, India, Japan, and Brazil with greater flexibility for local execution.
This targeted balancing positions NIVEA to respond more effectively to market dynamics and to resume the growth path we expect from our largest brand.
Derma, Health Care, and Luxury
Our Derma Eucerin and Aquaphor brands delivered industry-leading organic growth of 11.7% (previous year: 10.6%) and gained market share worldwide, supported by the continued rollouts of Thiamidol® and Epicelline® and their successful market entries in China, India, and the United States. The whitespace expansion of Eucerin, for example in India and Japan, further strengthened our Derma portfolio. These achievements underscore our ability to lead not only in established markets, but also to unlock new growth opportunities worldwide.
Our Health Care business, which includes the Hansaplast and Elastoplast brands, delivered growth of 9.3% (previous year: 6.1%), driven especially by the strong performance of the Second Skin Protection plaster.
La Prairie showed sequential improvement throughout the year despite a volatile market. The brand’s organic sales were down by 4.5% (previous year: -6.2%). New leadership, a sharpened luxury brand positioning, and targeted innovations, supported this progress. La Prairie’s performance in China illustrates the potential of our repositioning efforts, even as the brand continues to operate in a highly dynamic and unpredictable environment.
tesa
The tesa Business Segment achieved sales of €1,676 million and organic growth of 1.8% (previous year: 1.9%) in a challenging environment. The tesa Consumer business delivered stable results and e-commerce grew significantly, while performance was affected by the weak European automotive industry. At the same time, the Electronics business continued to show attractive growth.
Beiersdorf Share
After several strong years, our share delivered below-average performance in 2025. Following a weaker start into the year, shaped by a slowdown in the consumer goods market and our strategic realignment in China, the share price came under continued pressure. I take this seriously. Beiersdorf remains committed to generating long-term value to its shareholders.
At the same time, our fundamentals remain strong. Our innovation power, strong brand portfolio, disciplined execution, and continued expansion into new business areas, and our clear focus on profitable growth position the company well for long-term value creation.
Based on our financial performance, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of €1.00 per dividend-bearing share at the Annual General Meeting.
Stronger for the Future
2026 will focus on rebalancing NIVEA, further expanding the strong performance of Derma, and strengthening our Luxury business to support growth across the Group. These measures will unfold their full impact over time, with meaningful improvements expected later this year and in 2027. We will report transparently and regularly on progress against our plan.
Given the current market environment, we maintain a conservative outlook for 2026. At the same time, our strong Derma and Health Care performance, our innovation pipeline, and our disciplined execution, give us a solid foundation to improve performance and deliver sustainable growth.
And we know we can rely on the strength and dedication of our teams worldwide – as we did in 2025. In the past financial year, our employees responded with determination and flexibility, helping us navigate complexity and prepare for the next phase of growth.
On behalf of the entire Executive Committee, I thank all colleagues worldwide for their passion, commitment, and agility. I also thank you, our shareholders, for your trust in our company and our path – especially in demanding periods. My thanks also go to our business partners and consumers around the world for their continued confidence.
We have proven many times that we do not simply overcome challenges – we grow stronger through them. We will learn, adjust, and keep moving forward. With our strategy “Win with Care,” with innovation, resilience, and responsible action, we are confident about the road ahead. We look forward to your continued support as we move forward on this journey.
Yours,
Vincent Warnery
CEO