Personal Care
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Essity is a leading global player in personal care
Offering
Essity’s offering includes Incontinence Products, Medical Solutions, Baby Care and Feminine Care. Products are sold under brands such as TENA, JOBST, Leukoplast, Libero, Libresse, Nosotras and Saba, and as retailer brands.
In Incontinence Products, with the globally leading brand TENA, Essity offers a broad range of incontinence products that also includes skincare products, wet wipes, wash gloves and digital solutions that include sensor technology. In Baby Care, Essity offers open baby diapers and pant diapers as well as baby care products such as wet wipes, shampoo, lotion and baby oil. In Europe, Essity offers baby diapers under its own Libero and Lotus brands and as retailer brands. In Feminine Care, Essity offers a broad product portfolio that includes pads, panty liners, tampons, intimate soaps and intimate wipes. In Medical Solutions, Essity offers products and services in wound care, compression therapy and orthopedics.
Distribution channels are the retail trade, pharmacies, medical device shops, hospitals, distributors and care institutions and online sales.
Market positions
Essity is the global market leader in the market for incontinence products with the TENA brand, holding a global market share that is about twice the size of the second largest player. Essity is the market leader in Europe, Asia (excluding Japan) and Latin America. Essity is the third largest player in Asia (including Japan) and the fourth largest in North America.
In Baby Care, Essity is the world’s fifth largest player and the second largest in Europe. Essity’s strongest market is the Nordic region, where the Libero brand is the market leader. Examples of other strong regional brands are Drypers in South East Asia and Pequeñin in South America.
In Feminine Care, Essity is the world’s sixth largest player, the third largest in Europe and the market leader in Latin America. Examples of regional brands supported by Essity’s global brand platform in Feminine Care include Libresse in the Nordic region, Russia, Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, Malaysia and China, Bodyform in the UK, Nana in France, the Middle East and North Africa, and Saba and Nosotras in Latin America.
In Medical Solutions, in the product categories in which the company is active, Essity is the world’s fourth largest player and the market leader in Europe. Essity is the largest global player in compression therapy and the third largest player in orthopedics. In wound care, which includes acute and advanced wound care, Essity is the fifth largest player. Essity holds the number three position within acute wound care. Examples of strong brands include JOBST, Leukoplast, Cutimed, Delta-Cast and Actimove.
Read more about Essity’s market positions
Production facilities
At the end of 2019, Personal Care had production at 36 sites in 24 countries.
Read more about Essity’s production facilities
Operations in 2019
Net sales increased 6.6% to SEK 48,340m (45,342). Organic net sales, which exclude exchange rate effects, acquisitions and divestments, increased 3.4%, of which volume accounted for 2.3% and price/mix for 1.1%. Organic net sales in mature markets increased 1.6%. In emerging markets, which accounted for 37% of net sales, organic net sales increased 7.0%. Acquisitions in Latin America increased net sales by 0.1%. Exchange rate effects increased net sales by 3.6%. The divestment of the jointly owned company SCA Yildiz in Turkey reduced net sales by 0.5%.
For Incontinence Products, with the globally leading TENA brand, organic net sales increased 5.0%. Growth was related to Western Europe, North America and emerging markets. In Medical Solutions, organic net sales increased 0.5%, mainly related to emerging markets and Western Europe. For Baby Care, organic net sales decreased 1.2% related to emerging markets. Organic net sales increased in Western Europe. For Feminine Care, organic net sales increased 9.4%, related to Latin America, Western Europe and Asia.
Adjusted operating profit before amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets (adjusted EBITA), increased 6% (1% excluding currency translation effects, acquisitions and divestments) to SEK 6,746m (6,354). The increase was mainly related to higher prices, a better mix, higher volumes and cost savings. Higher raw material and energy costs negatively impacted profit by SEK –509m, which corresponds to a negative impact on the adjusted EBITA margin of –1.1 percentage points. The significantly higher raw material costs were mainly related to pulp and a negative currency transaction effect. Higher distribution costs also negatively impacted earnings. Investments to increase growth and costs for implementation of the Medical Device Regulation resulted in higher sales and marketing costs.
Net sales
Organic net sales1)
Adjusted EBITA2)
Adjusted EBITA margin2)
Adjusted return on
capital employed2)
Emerging markets’ share of business area’s net sales
Organic net sales1)
in emerging markets
SEKm |
2019 |
2018 |
% |
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|
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Net sales |
48,340 |
45,342 |
7 |
||||
Organic net sales1), % |
+3.4% |
+3.0% |
|
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Adjusted EBITA2) |
6,746 |
6,354 |
6 |
||||
Adjusted EBITA margin2), % |
14.0% |
14.0% |
|
||||
Adjusted return on capital employed2), % |
15.2% |
15.3% |
|
||||
Operating cash flow |
6,495 |
5,006 |
30 |
||||
Investments in non-current assets |
–1,866 |
–2,134 |
|
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Average number of employees |
17,167 |
18,328 |
|
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Net sales by region
Net sales by product category
For Personal Care, 9% of total net sales were related to retailer brands. For Incontinence Products: 1%, Baby Care: 42%, Feminine Care: 6%, Medical Solutions: 0%.
Net sales
Earnings trend
1) Excluding exchange rate effects, acquisitions and divestments.
2) Excluding items affecting comparability.