Henkel 2Q profit falls sharply

Henkel, which makes Persil detergent and owns Dial Corp., said it earned euro38 million (US$59 million) in the April-June period--a decline of 83.8 percent from last year's figure of euro234 million.

Henkel's operating profit declined by two-thirds--dropping to euro113 million (US$175 million) from euro339 million.

The company said it took restructuring charges of euro256 million (US$397 million) related to its efficiency program--which it has said likely will lead to 3,000 job cuts--and to integrating the National Starch business.

However, it said that sales rose by 11.4 percent, climbing to euro3.67 billion (US$5.69 billion) from euro3.29 billion.

Henkel CEO Kasper Rorsted said the company had "highly encouraging 2nd-quarter organic sales growth, despite a difficult economic environment still characterized by significantly increasing raw material costs and a weak U.S. dollar."