Symrise reports Scent & Care 8.1% rise, eyeing opportunities in renewable ingredients and probiotics

26 Oct 2021 --- Symrise has released its Q3 2021 results, noting 8.1% organic sales growth in the first nine months and 6.2% in the third quarter for its Scent & Care business, which includes cosmetic ingredients. The company seeks to further boost this segment through acquisitions and is also eyeing opportunities in renewable ingredients and probiotic formulations.

“We want to grow with our Scent & Care core business and adjacent areas, both organically and by making strategic acquisitions,” Christina Witter, director of corporate communications, press and media relations, tells PersonalCareInsights.

“We see particular growth opportunities in renewable ingredients that we have firmly integrated into our business model. Examples include our recently launched Hydrolite 7 green, Lillybelle and Crinipan PMC green.”

Witter says Symrise is also seeing great potential for probiotic-based ingredients that work in harmony with the human microbiome.

“We have a selection of products specifically dedicated to the microbiome platform SymProBiome and our solutions for its various ecosystems,” she adds.

Symrise seeks to grow its Scent & Care core business and adjacent areas, both organically and by making strategic acquisitions. Overall, Symrise reported a profitable growth course in the third quarter of 2021. The company recorded organic sales growth of 8.3%. In the first nine months of the current financial year, growth amounted to 9.2%.

The post-pandemic market
Witter says the company saw some shifts in consumer behavior and has generated growth in areas that are connected to the pandemic.

“During lockdown and with travel restrictions, the main growth came from the Consumer Fragrance and Oral Care business units. Consumers bought cleaning, personal care and hygiene products.”

The Fine Fragrances business unit and sun care products, on the other hand, saw a decline due to extensive travel restrictions, she explains.

“We feel very glad that we now see a strong demand in the application area for luxury perfumes again, driven by the resumption of international travel and normalization of consumer demand following the end of lockdowns in many countries.”

“Growth in the Scent & Care segment also originates from the Cosmetic Ingredients division, which also benefited from increased travel activity and the demand for high-quality cosmetic products.”

She also notes that the high demand for sun protection products and products with active cosmetic ingredients led to strong organic growth for the segment.

The regions of North America and EAME, in particular the national markets US, Canada and France, underwent particularly expansive development.

Demand for luxury scents
Scent & Care, Symrise’s business segment – which includes fragrances, aroma molecules and cosmetic ingredients – was also boosted by the acquisition of Sensient in April 2021, which contributed a total of €27 million (US$31 million) to the segment’s sales.

During lockdown and with travel restrictions, the main growth came from the Consumer Fragrance and Oral Care business units, the company notes.The Fragrance division benefited in particular from strong demand in the application area for luxury perfumes, driven by the resumption of international travel and the normalization of consumer demand following the end of lockdowns in many countries.

The Fine Fragrances business achieved a double-digit sales growth in all regions.

The Consumer Fragrance and Oral Care business units also developed well, the company says. Both generated organic growth in the single-digit range.

Overall, the Fragrance division achieved good, single-digit percentage organic growth with sales increases in all regions.

Menthol demand rises
The strong demand for aroma chemicals and in the Menthol business unit led to good sales development in the Aroma Molecules division.

The highest growth was achieved in the Asia/Pacific and EAME (Europe, Africa, Middle East) regions.

The Menthol business unit recorded double-digit percentage growth on the back of continuing strong demand and successful capacity expansions.

Overall, sales in the Aroma Molecules division increased organically in the middle single-digit range in the first nine months and in the double-digit range in the third quarter.

Raising the sales forecast
“We can look back on an exceptionally successful third quarter of 2021. As a result of the progress made in battling the coronavirus pandemic, demand has continued to increase significantly,” says Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise.

“We are once again raising our sales forecast to around 9%. We are confident that we can achieve even more growth than forecasted after six months and we will make the best possible use of the remaining weeks in 2021 to achieve this target,” he notes.

This corresponds to an increase of around two percentage points compared to the raised forecast of 7% in August 2021.

Symrise thereby highlights its aspiration to once again significantly outperform growth in the relevant market for fragrances and flavors during the current financial year. In the present business environment, current estimates assume market growth of 3% to 4%.

Furthermore, Symrise is adhering to its profitability target for the financial year 2021 and is aiming for an EBITDA margin of more than 21%.

By Kristiana Lalou

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