First quarter was ‘satisfactory', says GfK CEO Matthias Hartmann

CEO Matthias Hartmann (pictured) said that a “strategic realignment of the product portfolio [had] affected the sales trend”, however, he said that the realignment had “the intended positive effect on the company’s performance”.

The Consumer Experiences business line – where most of the changes are being implemented – reported sales down 6.9% to €192.5m, which includes 3.2 percentage points of negative currency effects.

In the Consumer Choices sector, meanwhile, organic sales growth was 4.2%, but currency effects reduced growth to 1.3%, with sales totalling €141.6m for the quarter.

By region:

• Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa increased sales by 1.2% to €30.4m
• Latin American sales totalled €12.7m, down 9%
• Northern Europe decreased by 2.8% to €136.3m
• Southern and Western European sales fell 2.2% to €62.9m
• North America saw sales decline by 11.8% to €56.2m
• Asia and the Pacific revenue grew 2.2% to €36.4m