HOLZMINDEn, Germany—Following the development of business in the first half of the year, Symrise AG continued to benefit from the economic recovery in important markets in the third quarter. The positive development was driven by solid consumer confidence in established markets and an on-going high demand in emerging markets. During the nine-month period, Symrise saw sales grow by 16.4 percent (12.4 percent at local currency), thereby again growing faster than the market for fragrances. The Group EBITDA rose 40 percent to € 267.7 million and the EBITDA margin improved from 18.4 percent to 22.2 percent. The strong sales growth, a high utilization of production capacities and ongoing cost awareness contributed significantly to the positive earnings development.
Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, chief executive officer of Symrise AG, said: “During the first nine months, Symrise achieved a double-digit growth rate in both divisions and in all regions. Our broad international presence and firm foothold in emerging markets have paid off once again. Business with global customers in both divisions is growing at an above-average rate. The Scent & Care division in particular benefits from an increased demand in the luxury segment. In view of the excellent development of business during the first nine months, we are confident that Symrise will achieve its goals set for the full year."
Bertram added: “We are keeping our strategic objectives firmly in focus. We plan to further sharpen the profile of Symrise and place special emphasis on the development of new products in the rapidly growing segments of Life Essentials and Consumer Health. We will also continue to expand our presence in emerging markets."
Double-Digit Sales Growth in All Regions
In the first three quarters of 2010 Symrise increased Group sales by 16.4 percent from € 1,037.5 million to € 1,207.7 million. The Group enjoyed strong demand in established as well as in emerging markets.
The Asia/Pacific region was the most important growth engine with an increase in sales of 23 percent (13 percent at local currency). All application areas performed strongly here. Latin America accounted for the second-highest growth rate of 19 percent (13 percent at local currency) despite the strong performance in the corresponding period of the previous year. Group sales in North America rose by 17 percent (13 percent at local currency) and benefited primarily from the strong demand in Fine Fragrances and Household. In the EAME region, which had suffered the most from the economic crisis in the previous year, sales grew significantly by 13 percent (12percent at local currency) due to, among others, the strong demand in Life Essentials as well as in Middle East and Africa.
Scent & Care – Sales Grow by Approximately 20 percent
Scent & Care reported strong demand in all application areas. Fine Fragrances and Personal Care, which were hit hard by the economic downturn during the previous year, performed particularly well. Scent & Care completed an important investment project with the expansion of production capacity for perfume oils by 25 percent in the third quarter. The division also launched new products in the application areas Oral Care and Fragrance Ingredients.
Scent & Care achieved double-digit growth in all regions even though the growth dynamics slowed down slightly in the third quarter. The division enjoyed its sharpest rise in sales of 17 percent (at local currency) in the EAME region, followed by the North America with 15 percent (at local currency) and Asia/Pacific with 13 percent (at local currency). Sales in Latin America remained on a high level with a growth rate of 11 percent (at local currency), although growth was more moderate due to strong prior-year comparables.
Sales of Scent & Care grew by approximately 20 percent (14.7percent at local currency) to € 621.8 million (previous year: € 518.6 million). The EBITDA rose 54 percent to € 131.2 million (previous year: € 85 million), whereby the EBITDA margin increased to 21.1 percent over 16.4 percent for the same period of last year.