International. Henkel reported that it achieved sales growth of 12.7%, to €4.43 billion (organically: +3.6%), with a cleansed EBIT margin of 16% (+0.2%).
Earnings per preferred share rose 13.5% to €1.18. Sales in emerging markets experienced a strong increase: in Latin America they increased by 13.7% to 274 million euros, representing an organic growth of 5.3%. Organically, they increased by 5.3%. The improvement was mainly due to operations in Mexico.
"Henkel achieved a solid commercial performance in the first quarter in a difficult market environment and got off to a good start in 2015. Again, we have improved sales and the result. The good organic performance, the purchases of the previous year and the strength of the US dollar have contributed to our being able to achieve the highest quarterly sales in the history of the company. All divisions contributed to this. We have also evolved very positively in the growth markets," said Kasper Rorsted, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In the first quarter of 2015, sales increased by a significant 12.7%, achieving a new quarterly record of 4,430 million euros. After adjusting the positive effects of exchange rates of 5.8%, sales improved by 6.9%. Organically, after adjusting the effects of the exchange rate and acquisitions/divestments, sales increased by 3.6%.
Henkel expects organic sales growth of 3 to 5% for 2015.
