By Bernadette Hogg and Matthias Inverardi
-Nivea-maker Beiersdorf’s shares fell 10% on Wednesday after the company lowered its 2025 sales growth forecast late on Tuesday and warned of difficult market conditions.
Economic volatility and “consumer anxiety” stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and an uncertain economic outlook is encouraging shoppers to watch their spending and stretch their budgets, impacting consumer goods firms.
Beiersdorf lowered its outlook for organic sales growth to 3%, from a previous target of 4%-6%. It now expects 3%-4% growth in the consumer segment from a previous target of 4%-6%.
The group forecast EBIT margin growth at its consumer business of 20 basis points (bps) against the previous year, down from a previous target of a 50 bps rise.
Beiersdorf has softened the impact of U.S. tariffs by shipping products to the United States ahead of the onset of the import duties, its finance chief Astrid Hermann said on Wednesday.
Goods from Switzerland, where its anti-aging skincare brand La Prairie is produced, were hit by a 39% U.S. import tariff last week.
A very large portion of Beiersdorf products sold in the U.S. are produced in Mexico or the U.S. and are thus not impacted by the tariffs, though that may change, Hermann said.
“At the moment it is still quite a small impact, and especially this year, as we have mitigated as much as we can by shipping earlier to the U.S. over the last few months,” Hermann said.
She added that the company hoped ongoing negotiations between Switzerland and the U.S. would produce a better picture.
Beiersdorf reported a moderate rise in sales in the first half of 2025 on Wednesday, despite slower market growth in the second quarter.
The company said its half-year sales rose 2.1% organically to 5.19 billion euros ($6.01 billion) from 5.18 billion a year earlier.
($1 = 0.8639 euros)
(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi and Bernadette Hogg; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
