Dusseldorf, Germany — Henkel generated sales of EUR9.5bn in the first half of 2020. This is a fall of 6% compared with the same period in 2019.
EBIT across the business fell 27% to EUR1.1bn. In the same period in the previous year, EBIT was EUR1.5bn.
CEO Carsten Knobel said that his company's balanced portfolio enabled the company to balance the impact of the crisis on the overall sales and earnings performance.
In the company's adhesive technologies business, which includes polyurethane-based products, sales fell by 12% between the first half of 2019 and 2020, to $4.1bn. EBIT in the division declined by 36% to $532m.
Sales and earnings in the business fell during the half because of a significant decline in industrial and automotive production as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The lower sales volume led directly to lower earnings, the company added.