Beiersdorf sales grew by 3.6% in Q1, a sign that consumer appetite for the group's brands remains strong. But not to the same extent.

Nivea – its main brand, accounting for 57% of total sales – grew by 2.5%, the Dermatology division – 14% of revenues – by 11.5%, and the Healthcare segment – 3% – by 10.8%. Beiersdorf noted particularly robust activity in the US. This explains the concern of shareholders following the announcements of customs duties, which caused the share price to slump almost 20% to last week's lows.

Adhesives – the other major business, accounting for 17% of sales – also posted solid growth of 10.7%, almost triple the level expected by analysts. The performance can be explained by the growth of electronic activities – Tesa makes, for example, electrical conductive tapes or foam tapes for technology-related applications – and the strong growth in the Africa, Asia and Australia regions (+34%). This situation will, however, only be temporary, given that the brand has increased its shipments to reduce its inventories before transferring production from China to India.

On the other hand, there are two tasks ahead. Already, La Prairie, the group's luxury brand, has seen its sales fall by 17.5%. As the luxury leader LVMH has seen in its figures, it is Chinese consumers who are penalizing growth. They are no longer fond of conspicuous spending and have other ambitions for their purchasing power. The situation now seems increasingly set to last and not just temporary, as might have been thought in recent months. The other task on the board is Coppertone - tanning products and sunscreens - which has seen its sales fall by 12.6%.

The group is trading at 24x profits. Multiples are slightly higher than those of the other major consumer groups - Unilever, Nestlé, Danone. However, the growth rates and margins expected at Beiersdorf for the coming financial years are much higher in the medium term.