Henkel has announced a robust sales performance for the third quarter of 2025, despite ongoing challenges in both industrial demand and consumer sentiment globally. The Group achieved a total of 5.1 billion euros in sales, reflecting organic growth of 1.4% compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth was supported by both a positive volume development and stable price adjustments, particularly in the Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands business units.
CEO Carsten Knobel commented on the strong performance: “As expected, our sales momentum continued to accelerate in Q3. While Adhesive Technologies led the charge, our Consumer Brands division also recorded a solid organic growth rate. Notably, our success in North America, where both business units contributed to growth, demonstrates the effectiveness of our ongoing strategic measures.”
Adhesive Technologies Business Unit Continues to Perform Strongly
The Adhesive Technologies business unit continued to demonstrate strong sales growth in Q3 2025, with 2.5% organic growth. This was largely driven by the Mobility & Electronics and Craftsmen, Construction & Professional business areas. The Mobility & Electronics segment, in particular, experienced a 5.9% increase in organic sales, led by double-digit growth in the Electronics business and strong industrial demand. However, automotive demand remained subdued, leading to an overall decline in that sector.
In contrast, Packaging & Consumer Goods saw a modest -1.1% decline in organic sales, with Consumer Goods performing well, while Packaging struggled. The Craftsmen, Construction & Professional segment saw 2.2% organic growth, underpinned by positive results from the General Manufacturing & Maintenance and Construction businesses.
Regionally, North America recorded strong growth, particularly driven by the Mobility & Electronics and Craftsmen, Construction & Professional segments. Asia-Pacific also posted remarkable growth, led by Electronics in China, while Europe and Latin America experienced declines in organic sales for the quarter.
Consumer Brands Division Shows Positive Growth in Challenging Conditions
The Consumer Brands unit, which posted nominal sales of 2.4 billion euros, showed a 0.4% organic sales increase, driven primarily by strong growth in Hair care products. Despite this positive development, the unit experienced a decline of -9.5% in nominal sales compared to the previous year, primarily due to foreign exchange impacts and the divestment of its retailer brands in North America.
The Laundry & Home Care business area recorded a -1.5% decline in organic sales, with the Fabric Cleaning category performing weakly, while Fabric Care saw double-digit growth. The Home Care segment remained stable, primarily driven by strong performance in Dishwashing products.
The Hair Care business area performed exceptionally well, recording 4.4% organic growth, fuelled by strong consumer demand for Hair Colorants and Hair Styling products. In contrast, the Other Consumer Businesses segment experienced a -3.2% decline, primarily due to negative results in Body Care products in North America and Europe.
Financial Overview and Full-Year Outlook
Henkel’s overall Group sales in the first nine months of 2025 reached 15.5 billion euros, representing a nominal decline of -4.6%. However, organic sales growth for the period was 0.4%, driven by positive price development, although volume development was slightly negative.
Despite the global challenges, Henkel’s earnings development remained strong, and the company continued to make significant investments in its businesses and brands. The company is also on track to complete the integration of its Consumer Brands businesses by the end of the year and expects to realise cost savings of at least 525 million euros by year-end.
Henkel’s full-year outlook for 2025 remains unchanged, with organic sales growth expected to be within the 1-2% range. The company anticipates that Adjusted EBIT margin and Adjusted EPS growth will remain within the current guidance ranges, despite the ongoing challenges in the global markets.
Regional and Business Unit Performance
The North America region showed a positive trend, with good organic sales growth in both the Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands business units. IMEA (India, Middle East, and Africa) also saw strong organic sales growth, with contributions from all business areas. In contrast, Europe and Latin America posted weaker organic sales, particularly in Europe, where the Consumer Brands business unit struggled.
For the Adhesive Technologies division, growth was particularly strong in Mobility & Electronics in North America and Asia-Pacific, while Europe recorded a decline. The Consumer Brands division saw regional successes in North America, IMEA, and Asia-Pacific, driven by the strong performance of the Hair business area.
2025 Expectations and Strategic Goals
Henkel’s expectations for 2025 include organic sales growth of 1.0% to 2.0% for the Group, with Adhesive Technologies expected to achieve 2.0% to 3.0% growth, and Consumer Brands forecasted to see 0.5% to 1.5% growth. Adjusted EBIT margin is expected to range between 14.5% and 15.5% at the Group level, with Adhesive Technologies targeted to achieve 16.5% to 17.5% and Consumer Brands to reach 14.0% to 15.0%. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to grow in the low to high single digits at constant currency exchange rates.
Henkel also faces expected negative effects from acquisitions, divestments, and foreign currency translation, along with increased material costs in 2025. The company anticipates restructuring expenses of 150 to 200 million euros and capital expenditures of 650 to 750 million euros.
Henkel has delivered positive organic sales growth in a challenging global environment, driven by the strong performance of its Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands business units. Despite the challenges, Henkel remains on track to meet its 2025 full-year targets and continue delivering strong results across its diverse business units.
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