Nestlé Skin Health records strong performance as skin care innovation flourishes

13-Aug-2015 - Last updated on 14-Aug-2015 at 10:23 GMT

Innovation drove a good performance for in its Skin Health business as Nestlé saw sales increase in the first half of the year, although profits dipped.

Better-than-expected sales growth for the first six months allowed the predominantly food company to confirm its 2015 outlook despite poor exchange rates leading to decreased profits.

Chief Executive, Paul Bulcke said that the first half results were exactly in line with the expectations, all due to growth across product categories and geographies.

“Our investments in the new growth platforms Nestle Health Science and Nestle Skin Health are delivering and complement the good momentum in our food and beverages businesses. This allows us to confirm the outlook for the full year,” he said.

Nestlé Skin Health progress

In its Skin Health business in particular, the company says innovation led to good progress being made as the Consumer business delivered a strong performance with Cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser, and in the US, Benzac over-the-counter was launched.

Prescription products also achieved very good growth supported by the success of the rosacea treatments Soolantra and Oracea and the acne treatment Epiduo.

The company also notes that Aesthetic & Corrective continued to do well with Restylane Skinboosters, and the launch of Restylane Lyft in the US.

Back in February 2014, Nestlé announced it was extending its activities to include the field of specialised medical skin treatments through the creation of Nestlé Skin Health: a new wholly-owned subsidiary offering a broad range of products, building on the company’s strengths as a science-based nutrition, health and wellness company.

The Skin Health business was formed after Nestle acquired full ownership of the Galderma brand from cosmetics maker L’Oreal , and has since made organisational changes to its top management as it looks to sharpen its focus and expand in the skin, hair, and nails categories.

Overall results

The Division reported a good first half year performance for 2015 as the Swiss Group as a whole saw organic sales, which exclude acquisitions, divestments and currency moves, rise 4.5%, beating analysts' expectations and reaffirming Nestlé’s expected annual sales growth of 5%.

However, the Swiss food giant reported decreased overall revenues and profit on the back of ‘sizable’ negative effects of foreign exchange swings; Revenue slid 0.3% to CHF 42.84 in the first half, while net profit declined 2.5% to CHF 4.52 billion (€4.17bn) from CHF 4.63 billion (€4.27bn) a year earlier, defying projections for a 2.4% jump to CHF 4.74 billion (€4.37bn).

“The first half results were in line with our expectations, broad-based across categories and geographies, solid even in difficult circumstances, and consistent with our strong performance over time,” says Nestlé chief executive Paul Bulcke.