Emerging markets support H1 2011 revenue growth for Symrise

Published: 10-Aug-2011

But earnings adversely affected by high raw materials costs


Fragrance, flavourings and active cosmetic ingredients supplier Symrise AG has announced sales of €811.8m for the first half of 2011, an increase of 1.8% on the prior year period, or 2.6% in local currencies. According to the company, revenue growth was driven by a continued increase in sales in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Although these regions did not enjoy the extraordinarily high growth rate of the prior year, they continued to grow above average.

Despite this, the company’s earnings nosedived, with EBITDA dropping -9% compared to the first six months of 2010, a victim of high raw materials costs and negative currency effects.

Revenue growth was driven by Symrise’s Flavour & Nutrition business, which grew 4% to €402.3m. Scent & Care, meanwhile, posted a weaker performance. Sales dipped -0.6 to €409.5m, compared with €411.9m in the prior year period.

“Following the enormous catch-up effect during the previous year and a good first quarter, market growth slowed in the recent months,” said Symrise’s ceo Heinz-Jürgen Bertram. “Whereas the flavour business continued to grow, the demand for fragrances declined. Nonetheless, Symrise continued to grow throughout the first half of the year. We achieved the targeted EBITDA margin of 20%. We consider this to be a respectable achievement in view of the continually high raw material prices and unfavourable exchange rate effects.”

For the full year, Symrise is targeting sales growth of around 3%. However, the Scent & Care division is not expected to experience any noteworthy growth in 2011 for reasons including the divestment of less profitable businesses.

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