Henkel reported its 2011 sales and earnings, noting that sales increase of 3.4% and its adjusted operating profit was plus 9.0%. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments, increased by 5.9%. The company also reported a double-digit increase in emerging markets and confirmed its 2012 financial targets. The Cosmetics/Toiletries business sector continued its strong growth trend of recent years and, with organic sales growth of 5.4 percent, grew significantly stronger than the predominantly declining market. In North America, Henkel markets a range of consumer and industrial brands, including Dial soaps, Purex laundry detergents, and Right Guard antiperspirants.

“2011 was another very successful year for Henkel. Despite major challenges in a volatile economic environment, we fully achieved our ambitious targets – and even overdelivered on some of them. Sales and profits are higher than ever before,” said Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted. “A major factor driving Henkel’s strong performance was the further expansion of our position in the emerging markets, where we once again registered double-digit growth. We made considerable progress in 2011, establishing a strong platform for Henkel’s future. Thus, we are very confident of achieving the targets for fiscal 2012 that we set in 2008.”

For the fiscal year 2012, Rorsted noted: “The economic environment remains challenging. It is significantly more volatile today than in the past. As a consequence we need to constantly adapt in order to respond quickly and flexibly to changes in our markets. However, we consider Henkel to be well-positioned. We expect organic sales growth for the full fiscal year to be between 3 and 5 percent. We also expect to increase our adjusted EBIT margin to 14 percent and improve adjusted earnings per preferred share by at least 10 percent.”