HOLZMINDEN, Germany—Symrise AG reported in its first six months of the Fiscal Year 2010, Group sales rose 16.4 percent, or 13.9 percent at local currency. Group EBITDA rose 50 percent to € 177.7 million. This was matched by a EBITDA margin of 22.3 percent, up from the previous year at 17.3 percent. The increased net sales, ongoing cost discipline and the high capacity utilization of its production facilities significantly supported the rise in profitability. Based on its development in the first six months, Symrise specifies its forecast for the full year by expecting 2010 sales growth of at least 8 percent at local currency. In addition, Symrise continues to aim for an EBITDA margin of more than 20 percent.
Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, chief executive of Symrise AG, said: “We successfully capitalized on the economic recovery and enjoyed above-average growth in the first half of 2010. Our customers’ order patterns have normalized again compared to 2009 and we were in particular able to expand our business with our key customers. Our regional diversification and our special focus on emerging markets are also paying off: We’ve seen considerable growth in all regions and are meanwhile generating 46 percent of sales in emerging markets alone."
Scent & Care continued to expand its business with its key customers, increasing sales by 12.8 percent at local currency. The developments in the Scent & Care division were particularly impacted by the economic recovery, which was most evident in the application areas of Fine Fragrances and Personal Care. In addition, similar trends were noticeable in Special Fragrance & Flavor Ingredients, Household and Cosmetic Ingredients. Scent & Care also benefited from new product launches in Cosmetics, including SymMollient® and Ambrocenide®.
Scent & Care reported double-digit sales growth in EAME, North America and Asia/Pacific. The largest increase in sales was achieved by the EAME region with 21 percent at local currency. Last year’s particularly strong reference values resulted in a somewhat more moderate 9 percent improvement in sales in Latin America.
The business division’s year on year sales rose by almost a fifth to € 411.9 million (€ 343.6 million) and an increase of 16.5 percent at local currency. EBITDA rose by 69 percent to € 85.5 million (H12009: € 50.6 million). The EBITDA margin went up from 14.7 percent in the previous year to 20.7 percent in the reporting period.