Dusseldorf Dax newcomer Symrise was able to increase its numbers again as a result of the corona easing. In the first nine months of the year, the fragrance and flavor manufacturer’s sales increased by 6.7 percent to 2.88 billion euros. On its own, excluding takeovers and exchange rate effects, it was an increase of 9.2 percent.
For the full year 2021, the management has again raised its sales forecast. For 2021, the group now expects organic sales growth of around nine percent. Previously, Lower Saxony had assumed more than seven percent, at the beginning of the year an increase of five to seven percent was expected. Symrise does not want to comment on the profit development until the annual figures are presented.
Symrise, based in Holzminden in Lower Saxony, was promoted to the leading index Dax in September and presented its quarterly figures for the first time on Tuesday as a member of the first stock market league.
“We are very satisfied with the business development since the beginning of the year and are continuing our accelerated growth course”, CEO Heinz Jürgen Bertram is quoted in a corporate statement.
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Symrise is benefiting from the relaxation of the Corona requirements in many countries, increasing travel activity and normalizing consumer behavior. Above all, the demand for sun protection products, perfumery articles, but also applications for beverages and culinary products have increased sales.
In the public perception, Symrise, with its 10,000 employees, is not in the spotlight, although consumers come into contact with the company’s products an average of 20 to 30 times a day. Symrise produces more than 30,000 fragrances and flavors as well as cosmetic ingredients and flavor chemicals that are used in perfumes, cosmetics, food, beverages, the pharmaceutical industry and pet food.
“Scent & Care” division grows by 8.1 percent
Hardly any consumer goods company, food producer or cosmetics manufacturer can do without Symrise supplies. Customers include Danone, Unilever, L’Oréal and Henkel.
Symrise, one of the fastest growing companies in the industry, is based on two pillars: In the “Flavor & Nutrition” division, the group produces flavors for food and beverages as well as ingredients for animal feed, while the “Scent & Care” segment is primarily about fragrances and additives for personal care products, cosmetics and detergents.
The “Scent & Care” division achieved sales of 1.13 billion euros in the first nine months – an organic increase of 8.1 percent. This business area benefited in particular from strong demand for luxury perfume products and sun protection products as a result of the Corona easing.
“We are very satisfied with the business development since the beginning of the year and are continuing our accelerated growth course,” says the Symrise boss.
(Photo: Symrise)
The “Flavor & Nutrition” division also posted good figures due to the progress made in combating the pandemic. The segment increased its sales organically by ten percent compared to the previous year to 1.75 billion euros. The increase in out-of-home consumption had a positive effect and led to strong demand for beverages.
At the same time, the increasing number of households with pets around the world created high demand for pet food applications – and thus strong growth.
Symrise increases sales forecast
Against the background of the positive business development in the first nine months, Symrise is raising its sales target again and now expects organic growth of nine percent for the full year 2021 – two percentage points more than the forecast made in August 2021.
Before interest, taxes and depreciation (Ebitda), more than 21 percent should remain as profit at the end of the year. Symrise is thus sticking to its Ebitda margin. In the medium term, too, profitability should be in a corridor of 20 to 23 percent.
However, analyst Thomas Maul from DZ Bank writes in a current analysis: “The potential for increasing margins is likely to be limited in the next few months due to higher raw material costs.” This is also due to Symrise’s comparatively low pricing power. The company has a market share of around ten percent.
Symrise is sticking to its goals in the medium term as well. The company wants to increase its sales to 5.5 to 6.0 billion euros by the end of 2025 – on the one hand with annual organic growth of five to seven percent, on the other hand with takeovers. “Acquisitions remain an important strategic lever to open up growth areas,” said Symrise boss Bertram last in an interview.
At the beginning of September, the group announced that it would be expanding its business with sun protection and paints for cosmetics with a partnership. To this end, the company has a quarter of the shares in the US company Kobo, a specialist in powder and emulsion paints for cosmetic products.
Symrise’s business is considered relatively independent of the economic cycle and crisis-proof. The company has been able to continuously increase its profit for years. Even back in the days of the Dax 30, Symrise was repeatedly traded as a candidate for promotion.
In the past five years, the share price has risen 55 percent. This year the share – with strong fluctuations – gained almost five percent. A share certificate recently cost a good 117 euros.
More: More colors and sun protection: Symrise joins the US company Kobo