Holzminden/Frankfurt, 30 April 2008 - Symrise AG made a successful start to the new 2008 financial year despite a considerably more difficult economic environment: sales in the 1st quarter increased from EUR 331.2 million to EUR 338 million, an increase of 2.0%. On a local currency basis, this represents growth over the same quarter the previous year of 6.4 per cent.
Adjusted for the effects of currency translation, earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of intangible assets (EBITA) increased by 6.2 per cent. At actual exchange rates, EBITA decreased from EUR 63 million to EUR 62 million, which corresponds to a reduction of 1.6 per cent. This development in company earnings reflects the pace of increase in the value of the Euro, particularly in March. Adjusted earnings per share were up 15.4%.
On the balance sheet, the equity ratio improved from 31.9 per cent at the end of March 2007 to 36.9 per cent.
Flavor & Nutrition
The Flavor & Nutrition division had a strong first quarter in all regions and business units: sales increased by 5.6 per cent - from EUR 149.8 million to EUR 158.2 million - and by 9.7 per cent in local currencies.
Scent & Care
On a local currency basis, sales in the Scent & Care division were 3.7 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2008 at EUR 179.8 million; they decreased by 0.9 per cent at actual exchange rates. The Life Essentials business unit achieved growth of 8.8 per cent in local currencies, whereas the Fragrance business unit recorded figures that were in line with the previous year.
Both divisions succeeded in increasing sales with key accounts, with sales to the ten largest Scent & Care customers increasing disproportionately fast compared with total division sales. Business with what are known as "AND" products - products with additional benefits - rose by a further 6.7 per cent (in local currencies) and double-digit local currency basis growth was achieved in sales to emerging markets. A regional breakdown shows that Symrise recorded good growth primarily in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the emerging Asian markets. Raw material cost increases were compensated for by improvements in production efficiency; gross margin was only depressed by higher energy costs and a less favorable product mix.
The division highlights in the first quarter of 2008 included the take-over of the Chr. Hansen flavor operations to strengthen the North American business in the Flavor & Nutrition division and the strategic partnership with Cambridge Theranostics in the Scent & Care division, the aim of which is to co-operate on opening up the market for health & medical food. To take account of the broader focus of the Cosmetics business unit to include the beauty and health fields, this unit was renamed Life Essentials.
Outlook
"In view of our presence in the fast-growing regions of the world and our concentration on selected market segments that are growing rapidly, we continue to be confident that our business will grow disproportionately fast: we are therefore confirming the forecasts we made in our 2007 Annual Report, i.e. sales growth of 5 to 6 per cent and EBITA growth of 10 per cent on a local currency basis. It is difficult to predict how exchange rates will develop in future and what impact this will have on the results we report. The relative stability of the Euro in recent weeks is certainly a positive sign in this context", says Dr Gerold Linzbach, CEO of Symrise.
Key financials for the first 3 months of 2008
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Q1 | 2007 |
Q1 | 2008 |
Change |
Change |
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|
in € millon |
in € millon |
in % (at actual exchange rates)
|
in % (in local currency)
|
|
Sales |
331.2 |
338 |
2.0% |
6.4% |
|
- Scent & Care |
181.4 |
179.8 |
-0.9 |
3.7 |
|
- Flavor & Nutrition |
149.8 |
158.2 |
5.6 |
9.7 |
|
EBITA |
63.0 |
62.0 |
-1.6 |
6.2 |
|
EBITA- margin in % |
19.0 |
18.3 |
|
|
|
EBIT |
54.2 |
54.2 |
0.1 |
8.7 |
|
EBIT- margin in % |
16.4 |
16.0 |
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Net income for the period
|
29.2 |
24.9 |
-14.7 |
|
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Earnings per share
|
0.25 |
0.21 |
-14.7 |
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Adjusted earnings per share
|
0.29 |
0.30 |
6.2 |
15.4 |
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No. of employees (on the
qualifying date) |
4.819 |
4.926 |
2.4 |
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