Last week, L’Oréal revised its forecast downward in the face of a global recession. But Beiersdorf  CEO Thomas Quaas remained upbeat for the year ahead, insisting to reporters that no matter how markets developed, Beiersdorf would try hard to outperperform them.

“In difficult economic times, consumers tend to buy brands that they trust,” said Mr. Quaas.

For 2008, the Hamburg-based company still expects organic growth of more than 8%, faster than the market growth rate, which it sees at around 3%, and an operating margin above last year’s level of 12.4%. It also kept its mid-term target to reach an operating margin of 15 percent by 2010, having posted a margin of 12.1% for the first nine months of 2008.