With third quarter sales jumping 6.9% and lofty sales growth expectations for next year, it’s no wonder that Symrise is likely to pay out dividends equaling as much as 45% of earnings. According to Symrise CEO Gerold Linzbach, “In the run up to the IPO, we said we would pay dividends on a level with our competitors. After the way this year progressed, that’s the minimum value. We’re thinking more like 40 to 45% than 35%.”
The positive sales growth for 2007 has Linzbach expecting sales to grow at the upper end of its 5 –6% range in 2008, which is equal to the level of 2007 and double the pace of the overall market. Additionally, he believes net income will increase 10 –12% as rising disposable incomes in emerging markets boosts demand for cosmetics and food ingredients.
To contribute to this positive outlook, the company is still open to strategic acquisitions that will improve its know-how and add technology that may shorten product development time. Of this, Linzbach said, “The war chest is still full. The acquisitions we have made were so small, we paid them out of our constant cash flow. If I should come across a larger acquisition in three months that makes a lot of financial logic, fine. But we are not watching out actively.” (Source: Bloomberg.com)
