Henkel beats Q3 expectations on strong emerging markets

German consumer goods group Henkel on Tuesday posted consensus-beating third quarter results, boosted by growing demand in emerging markets, which pushed its shares to the top of Germany's blue-chip index in pre-market trade.

Henkel, known for laundry detergent Persil, beauty line Schwarzkopf and adhesives brand Loctite, said its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted for one-offs, grew by 7.6 percent to 837 million euros ($924 million), beating a Reuters forecast for 824 million euros.

Following the results, shares in Henkel rose 1.6 percent to the top of Germany's leading DAX index in pre-market trade, according to data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz.

The group also improved its adjusted EBIT margin by 0.7 percentage points to 17.6 percent and said that growing demand in emerging markets, especially in India, South Korea and China, helped offset declining sales in Western Europe.

All of Henkel's three business segments, laundry, beauty care and adhesives, contributed to overall organic sales growth of 2.8 percent, with the firm's laundry business seizing on a bigger market in North America following the acquisition of Sun Products, closed in September.

Other consumer goods groups, such as L'Oreal and local competitor Beiersdorf, also had to rely on growth regions outside of established Western European markets, as sluggish demand, particularly in France, was a drag on sales.