Symrise 2007 Results; Chr. Hansen Flavor Acquisition

Symrise (Holzminden, Germany) has reported full-year 2007 sales of €1,274.5 million, an increase of 3.7% from 2006. The Scent & Care division increased it sales in local currencies by 6.5% to €671.3 million. The positive results were driven to a large extent by cosmetics (+10.6%) and mint (+12.6%). In fine fragrances, the company maintained a local currency growth rate of 8.5%. The Flavor & Nutrition division reported sales in local currencies of €603.2 million, an increase of 5.8%.

Outlook: Symrise is expecting to achieve average sales growth of 5–6% per year in 2008 and 2009. According to Symrise chairman of the management board Gerold Linzbach, “We are present in the fast-growing international regions around the world and will be covering the North American market even better in the future than has been the case in the past. … All of this gives us the confidence that our sales growth will again be considerably higher than overall industry growth in 2008.” 

In other news, Symrise has signed an agreement to take over the flavor business from the Danish supplier Chr. Hansen. The acquisition will strengthen Symrise’s presence in the North American market since Chr. Hansen generates a substantial majority of its flavor sales in the United States. This is Symrise’s biggest acquisition to date. Pending regulatory approval in the United States and Germany, this acquisition should be completed before the end of April.

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