GERMANY: Henkel profit falls on restructuring charge | Progresiv

Henkel & Co. KGaA said fourth-quarter net profit fell slightly, hurt by extraordinary costs related to its restructuring. The German manufacturing company said net profit in the three months to end-December fell to EUR298 million from EUR320 million for the same period a year ago. The fall was caused by one-time costs and restructuring charges, and adjusted operating profit, also called earnings before interest and taxes, or Ebit, rose 3.1%. Henkel met its financial targets for 2014.

Sales rose 7.1% to EUR4.1 billion helped by a strong performance at all its three business units and although the weak Russian ruble knocked the shine off Henkel's earnings in Eastern Europe, its sales in the region increased by 4.5% when adjusted for currency fluctuations. Stripping out exchange-rate fluctuations, fourth-quarter sales rose 3.9%.

"The emerging markets were once again the main growth drivers for Henkel," said Chief Executive Kasper Rørsted.

For the full year 2014, net profit reached EUR1.62 billion, up from EUR1.58 million in 2013, on a currency-neutral 4.4% rise in sales to EUR16.4 billion. (www.marketwatch.com)