By Eva Orsolya Papp and Marleen Kaesebier

(Reuters) -Nivea maker Beiersdorf missed expectations for half-year operating profit on Wednesday and said the luxury market slowdown in China had hit the sales of its La Prairie brand.

Its shares fell as much as 5.9% to 123.65 euros in the morning trade, their lowest price since November. They were down 1.7% by 1023 GMT.

Sales of high-end beauty products have slowed down in China as economic uncertainty weighs on middle-class shoppers and makes those who can still afford luxury cautious about ostentation.

Organic sales at Beiersdorf's key businesses Nivea and Derma grew by 11.1% and 8.3% respectively in the first half of 2024, while luxury brand La Prairie saw a 7% drop largely due to the tough market environment in China.

"Weakness at La Prairie was the main explaining factor for the Q2 sales miss at Consumer, overshadowing another strong quarter for Nivea," Stifel analysts said in a note.

The Hamburg-based group said organic sales at its consumer business grew 6.1% in the second quarter, versus 7.4% growth expected by analysts. It did not provide quarterly numbers for specific brands.

At group level, first-half sales rose 7.1% organically to 5.2 billion euros ($5.7 billion), just below the 7.2% growth expected by analysts polled by Vara Research.

French peer L'Oreal had also flagged a hit from the lack of a rebound in China and said it expected the market to stay slightly negative in the second half of the year.

The German group's operating profit, excluding special factors, fell to 838 million euros in the first half, below analysts' average forecast of 890 million.

That was mainly due to higher spending on marketing, research and development, and digitalisation, Beiersdorf said.

The company reiterated its annual forecast for 6-8% organic sales growth, and CEO Vincent Warnery said in a call he would be disappointed if sales came in at the low end of that range.

Meanwhile, finance chief Astrid Hermann said the 2024 growth would depend on the performance of La Prairie in the second half of the year.

($1 = 0.9165 euros)

(Reporting by Eva Orsolya Papp and Marleen Kaesebier in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)