Beiersdorf resilient in face of cyber attack

Consumer sales were up 2.3%, while tesa sales increased by 8.5%, the company said. Beiersdorf notes that its organic sales outperformed the market.

“Beiersdorf continued on its profitable growth path in the first six months of 2017. We have once again increased our sales, and our growth rate outperformed the market. The second quarter in particular brought a major boost in sales. We also increased earnings to a new record level for the Group​,” said Stefan F. Heidenreich, CEO of Beiersdorf AG

Cyber attack​

In June, the German consumer goods giant was hit by an attack to its IT and telephone systems, part of a wider cyber attack that began in the Ukraine and spread worldwide.

The issue meant infrastructure across the supply chain for many companies was immobilised: shipping ports, factories and businesses were shut down.

Reuters notes that this has taken a toll on the results of several major US and European companies in the latest quarter, with Beiersdorf listed as one of these.

According to the company, Beiersdorf's results excluding the impact of this cyber attack would have seen it grow at a predicted 4.4%.

Looking ahead​

Beiersdorf expects the Consumer Business Segment to outperform the market in 2017 with sales growth of 3–4%, the company says. The EBIT margin from operations is expected to slightly exceed the prior-year figure.

tesa is expected to generate sales growth of 4–5% and an operating EBIT margin at the prior-year level, and based on the forecasts for the two business segments, Beiersdorf expects Group sales to grow by 3–4% in financial year 2017, with the EBIT margin from operations slightly up on the prior year.