UPDATE 1-Beiersdorf sees lower 2009 sales and margin
* Says 2009 sales will not quite reach 2008 level
* Sees 2009 EBIT margin below 2008 level
* Expects slightly positive operating result in 2009
* Shares indicated 0.3 percent firmer
(adds detail, background)
FRANKFURT, May 5 (Reuters) - Germany's Beiersdorf (BEIG.DE), maker of Nivea skin care products, expects its 2009 revenue and operating margin to drop compared with 2008 but forecast a slightly positive operating result for the year.
The Hamburg-based group said on Tuesday the group will be unable to completely match last year's sales of 5.97 billion euros ($7.90 billion) due to difficult market conditions.
"Based on current developments in the context of the economic crisis, the company expects the EBIT margin to be below the prior-year figure," Beiersdorf added.
The operating margin in 2008 was 13.4 percent. In April, Beiersdorf had said it expects to outperform a slightly contracting global market this year after it reported operating profit of 145 million euros in the first quarter, down from 195 million the year before.
Sales in the first three months of 2009 were 1.44 billion euros, down 5.6 percent.
Beiersdorf said it expects its consumer segment -- which generates about 85 percent of annual sales with its Nivea, Eucerin and La Prairie brands -- to grow faster than the market.
Its adhesives units, Tesa, which has suffered from sluggish demand in the automotive, electronics and printing industry, generates about 12 percent of Beiersdorf group sales and will likely lose market share this year, the company said.
The German company competes with France's L'Oreal (OREP.PA) -- the world's biggest beauty products group -- cosmetic groups Clarins CLRP.PA and Estee Lauder (EL.N) as well as domestic rival Henkel (HNKG_p.DE).
Data from Thomson Reuters StarMine, which weights analysts' forecasts by their track record, show shares in Beiersdorf trading at 17 times 12-month forward earnings, while L'Oreal has a multiple of 15.7.
(Reporting by Nicola Leske)
