Germany's Beiersdorf reported a 3 percent rise in underlying 2015 sales, meeting expectations thanks to growth at its consumer products business that makes skin creams, lip balm and shower gels.

The maker of Nivea lotions and creams said on Thursday its total sales rose 6.4 percent to 6.69 billion euros ($7.27 billion), compared with analysts' average forecast of 6.68 billion in a Reuters poll.

Underlying sales exclude exchange rate moves, acquisitions and divestments.
DZ Bank analyst Thomas Maul said the consumer business's 2015 underlying sales growth of 3.6 percent implied a rate of increase of around 5 percent for the fourth quarter, which he said was "very strong given a challenging macro environment".

The euro zone economy has been showing signs of recovery, with consumer confidence picking up toward the end of the year, but China's growth is seen slowing further in 2016 and financial markets have been volatile.

Shares in Beiersdorf eased 0.3 percent in early trade but were still the second-best performers on Germany's blue-chip DAX index, which dropped 1.7 percent.

The company's shares have gained about 16 percent over the past year, outperforming the sector index, which gained 11 percent.

Beiersdorf said it still expected its full-year EBIT margin - operating profit as a percentage of sales - to significantly exceed the prior-year figure of 13.7 percent.

Beiersdorf is due to publish full 2015 results on Feb. 17.

$1 = 0.9202 euros