Beiersdorf CEO says company is 'there to stay' in Russia

By Cian Muenster and Paolo Laudani

Oct 27 (Reuters) - German skincare company Beiersdorf has no plans to leave Russia, its chief executive said on Tuesday, arguing the company needed to remain in the country to protect the Nivea brand after a dispute with a local business partner hurt third-quarter sales.

The maker of Nivea said a commercial dispute involving its Russian subsidiary and a local business partner weighed on third-quarter performance, but that the matter had been resolved and normal operations had resumed.

"We are there to stay in Russia with our brand, protecting the brand, paying the salary for people," CEO Vincent Warnery told analysts on a call.

Beiersdorf is among a shrinking number of Western consumer goods companies that continue to operate in Russia more than four years after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, even as many foreign firms have exited the market.

Warnery said there was no change to the company's Russia strategy, arguing that remaining in the country helped protect the Nivea brand, which Beiersdorf has sold there since 1906.

"We know that if we had left Russia, somebody else could have produced Nivea without us. So we are there to protect the brand and to pay the salaries of our employees. Nothing more, nothing less," he said.

Sales in Eastern Europe fell 14.6% in the third quarter, but were down just 1.3% excluding Russia.

(Reporting by Cian Muenster and Paolo Laudani)