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German consumer goods and adhesives maker Henkel said on Wednesday it expects a slower start to 2026 due to persistently weak consumer sentiment and uncertainties linked to the war in Iran.
Shares in Henkel were down 4.27 percent at 09:53 GMT after it said it expects a softer start to 2026 with only a moderate increase in industrial demand relevant to the group’s consumer goods activities.
“We are still confronted with quite weak consumer sentiment in the majorities of the world, which is for sure Europe and North America. And ... the Middle East conflict today is not helpful on that,” CEO Carsten Knobel told analysts in a conference call.
Europe’s consumer goods sector remains uneven, with resilient demand in home care products contrasted by weak discretionary spending, while the war in Iran has driven up oil and gas prices and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, raising costs across the industry.
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The company expects its organic sales to grow between 1.0 percent and 3.0 percent this year, compared to a 0.9 percent rise to 20.5 billion euros ($23.9 billion) in 2025.
At 2.0 percent, the mid-point of the outlook is slightly below the 2.1 percent growth estimated by analysts polled by Vara Research. They had also forecast average 1.0 percent organic growth for 2025.
The group said its growth agenda, including portfolio optimisation of the consumer brands business completed in 2025 and recent acquisitions in both business units, positioned Henkel for continued growth.
Henkel proposed a dividend of €2.07 ($2.40) per preferred share, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.
By Bartosz Dabrowski
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