B2. Segment reporting

AP Accounting principles

Operating segments are recognized in a manner that complies with the internal reporting submitted to the chief operating decision maker. The chief operating decision maker is the function that is responsible for allocating resources and assessing the result of the operating segments. At Essity, this function has been identified as the company’s President, who is responsible for and manages the day-to-day administration of the Group in accordance with the Board’s guidelines and terms of reference. One Executive Vice President and the Executive Management Team support him in his work. Essity’s three business areas, Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene, comprise the operating segments. For management purposes, the Group is organized into business areas based on their products.

Essity’s offering in Personal Care 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. Distribution channels are the retail trade, pharmacies, medical device stores, hospitals, distributors and care institutions and e-commerce.

Essity’s offering in Consumer Tissue includes toilet paper, household towels, handkerchiefs, facial tissues, wet wipes and napkins. Products are sold under brands such as Edet, Lotus, Regio, Tempo, Vinda and Zewa. In Europe, Essity also sells products under retailer brands. Distribution channels for the products are the retail trade and e-commerce.

Essity’s offering in Professional Hygiene comprises complete hygiene solutions, including toilet paper, paper hand towels, napkins, hand soap, hand lotion, hand sanitizers, dispensers, cleaning and wiping products as well as service and maintenance. Essity also offers digital solutions, such as Internet of Things sensor technology that enables data-driven cleaning. Customers consist of companies and office buildings, universities, healthcare facilities, industries, restaurants, hotels, stadiums and other public venues. Distribution channels for the products consist of distributors and e-commerce.

Other operations comprise Group-wide functions and non-allocated tax.

Essity’s business is an integrated operation in the form of a matrix organization with four business units (Health and Medical Solutions, Consumer Goods, Latin America and Professional Hygiene) and three global units (Global Manufacturing, Global Operational Services and Global Brand, Innovation and Sustainability). The business units have limited responsibility to impact operational costs, since the global units are responsible for production, planning, technology development, purchasing and product development.

No business areas were aggregated to form the aforementioned segments.

The President monitors the operating profit for the business areas separately in order to make decisions regarding the allocation of resources and how performance targets were achieved. The segments are evaluated based on operating profit, excluding items affecting comparability.

The tables below show parts of the consolidated balance sheet and income statement broken down by operating segment: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue and Professional Hygiene.

Assets and liabilities: The assets included in each operating segment comprise all operating assets used in the operating segment, primarily trade receivables, inventories and non-current assets after deduction for operating liabilities and provisions. Most of the assets are directly attributable to each operating segment. Assets that are common to two or more operating segments are allocated among the operating segments.

Internal sales: No internal sales are carried out between the segments. Production in shared facilities is allocated among the segments already at the operational reporting stage.

Customers: Essity had no customers in 2020, 2019 or 2018 from which it generated income that accounted for more than 10% of the company’s net sales. Essity’s ten largest customers account for 22.5% (23.7; 23.6) of the company’s sales.