Japanese speciality chemicals manufacturer Kao has seen sales fall in almost all divisions. The Japanese company reported last summer that it had revised forecasts and adjusted them to the current environment and circumstances.
At the beginning of November, the company published its financial results for January to September and indicated that net sales figures had fallen compared to the same period last year.
Despite highlighting that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have already been eradicated, they blame this drop in sales on the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe and the Chinese market, which is marked by its instability and high inflation that generates an increase in the price of all products.
Sales decreased by 0.2% year-on-year to 1,125,883 million yen in the first nine months of 2023. Operating income has plummeted 34.1% and a fall in the value of its shares has been reported.
In terms of business areas, the cosmetics division fell by 1.7% in sales compared to the previous year, and was the division that experienced the sharpest decline in that segment. In the Health and Beauty Care Business, sales also decreased by 6.5% compared to the same period last year, especially sales in skin care, hair care and health care products.
Kao experienced slight growth in the first half of the year, and in August the company realised that all its divisions had been impacted by inflation, geopolitical tension in Europe and subdued growth in the Chinese market. In the first six months of the year, sales were only 0.6% higher than in the same period last year. However, in contrast to the last published results, cosmetics, substances and ingredients for personal care and home care was the segment that experienced the strongest growth.