Consumer Health

First quarter of 2026

Sales

Sales at Consumer Health came in at €1,491 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Fx & portfolio adj. +5.3%), with business mainly up in the Nutritionals and Dermatology categories. On a regional level, sales advanced in Europe/Middle East/Africa, Latin America and Asia/Pacific. By contrast, we again encountered a weak market environment in the United States, along with a soft cold season, that weighed on growth.

• Sales in the Nutritionals category increased substantially, largely driven by very strong performance in our Natsana e-commerce business. We also recorded significant volume growth in China, partly thanks to a product-line extension for Elevit™.

• The Dermatology category posted a significant rise in sales, with Bepanthen™ again posting substantial gains in Europe/Middle East/Africa. In addition, KangWang™ sales increased markedly in China, bolstered by product-line extensions.

• Sales in the Allergy & Cold category were level year on year. As the allergy season began, we registered higher sales of allergy products against a weak prior-year quarter, with growth mainly driven by gains for Claritin™ in the United States and Asia/Pacific that were partly attributable to product-line extensions. By contrast, our cough and cold business saw a decline in sales that was largely due to the cold season remaining soft in the United States and Europe/Middle East/Africa.

• The Digestive Health category saw a decline in sales against a strong prior-year quarter, with business mainly impacted by customers in China adapting their ordering behavior as a result of market consolidation. However, this was only partly offset by higher MiraLAX™ volumes in the United States.

• Sales at Pain & Cardio were up against the prior-year quarter, with growth mainly fueled by higher Actron™ volumes and prices in Latin America.

Earnings

EBITDA before special items at Consumer Health decreased by 1.5% to €337 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2025: €342 million). Earnings were impacted by a negative currency effect of €31 million (Q1 2025: no material currency effects) and higher investments in marketing our innovative products. These effects were only partially offset by the increase in sales as well as a one-time gain from the sale of minor, nonstrategic brands. The EBITDA margin before special items declined by 0.2 percentage points to 22.6%.

EBIT came in at €243 million (Q1 2025: €237 million) and did not include any special items (Q1 2025: special charges of €8 million).