National Starch integrated by Henkel successfully

Henkel’s acquisition of the National Starch businesses in April 2008 has brought about a substantial increase of sales. After adjusting for foreign exchange, sales rose by 11.6 percent. Organic sales growth, i.e. adjusted for foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments, was a good 3.0 percent, falling within the range of our forecast for the year as a whole. Henkel expects that the difficult market conditions prevailing in the real economy and also in the financial markets will continue during the remainder of 2009. The general economic climate and its further development are difficult to predict. Nevertheless, Henkel is confident of outperforming its markets in terms of organic growth (i.e. growth after adjusting for foreign exchange and acquisitions/divestments). A number of measures have already been introduced on the operational side, from which Henkel expects positive momentum in the course of the year. Innovative solutions and newly-developed products are going to be exhibited in Hannover, Germany, from 18th to 22nd May, within the compass of the trade-show LIGNA.