Shares in Nivea maker Beiersdorf fall after profit outlook cut

BERLIN (Reuters) - Shares in Beiersdorf dropped 6.5 percent in early trade on Wednesday after the maker of Nivea skin cream warned that its operating margin would fall in 2019 as it invests to try to revive growth in its key brands.

Beiersdorf was just the latest consumer goods company to reset profit expectations for 2019 after German rival Henkel and Colgate-Palmolive last month, and following Kraft Heinz's writedown last week.

Beiersdorf said late on Tuesday that it expects group sales growth of 3-5 percent in 2019, down from 5.4 percent in 2018, and an operating margin of 14 to 14.5 percent in its core consumer business unit, down from 15.3 percent in 2019.

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; editing by Thomas Seythal)