Persil-owner Henkel's growth guidance disappoints as weak North America weighs

By Matthias Inverardi, Elizaveta Gladun and Linda Pasquini

(Reuters) -Persil-owner Henkel gave weaker-than-expected guidance for 2025 organic sales growth on Tuesday, projecting a slower start to the year due to a tough industrial environment and subdued consumer sentiment especially in North America.

Shares of the German consumer goods group, whose other brands include Schwarzkopf hair products, Loctite glue and Sellotape, fell 10% to the bottom of Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index as of 1124 GMT.

Henkel, a rival to market leaders L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble, has been grappling with subdued consumer spending on personal and home care products and weakness in industrial sectors such as automotive and electronics.

Sales in North America fell last year in both its segments, resulting in an organic decline of 1.1%, as challenging industrial markets dragged the adhesives business while its focus on portfolio optimization weighed on consumer brands, CFO Marco Swoboda said in a call with investors.

North America made up 28% of its sales last year.

The company currently sees a "reluctance" in terms of demand in the U.S. for both segments, CEO Carsten Knobel said in a media call, but added it was too early to quantify a possible impact on its business as the situation remains volatile.

When asked whether Henkel would be affected by tariffs imposed on U.S. imports by the Trump administration, Knobel

said that, with about 20 production sites in the U.S., the company can cover most of what is necessary in the region.

STRONGER SECOND HALF

Henkel said it expected organic sales to grow between 1.5% and 3.5% in 2025, after 2.6% growth last year missed analysts' consensus.

After a slow start, sales growth should accelerate in the course of the year and lead to a stronger second half, it added.

At 2.5%, the mid-point of the outlook range is below the 3% growth estimated by analysts polled by Vara Research.

The company forecast an annual operating margin of 14% to 15.5%, compared to 14.3% last year.

A potential rise in German defence spending could positively affect Henkel, which supplies adhesives to the aerospace, industrial and automotive segments, Knobel said.

Germany, however, contributes only marginally to the company's overall sales, most of which are made in international markets, Knobel added.

Henkel's shares slumped despite the company announcing a 10% rise in its annual dividend and a share buyback of up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion).

($1 = 0.9179 euros)

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, Elizaveta Gladun and Linda Pasquini; editing by Milla Nissi and Susan Fenton)