Beverages, snacks, savory and sweet goods also contributed to the positive sales performance

Six months after completing the acquisition of Naturex, flavor and fragrance giant Givaudan has posted its 2019 first-quarter sales of CHF 1,525 million (US$1,523 million), an increase of 6.3 percent on the previous year. The company’s Flavor Division sales were CHF 848 million, an increase of 4.3 percent. From a segment perspective Beverages, Snacks, Savory and Sweet Goods all contributed to the positive sales performance. Givaudanacquired the world player in natural extracts, Centroflora Nutra, in May 2018, which contributed CHF 4 million of sales, while Naturex, acquired last September, contributed CHF 111 million to the performance in the first-quarter of 2019.

Givaudan says it started the year with good business momentum with growth achieved across all product segments and geographies, as well as key strategic focus areas of naturals, health and well-being and active beauty.

The company continues to implement price increases in collaboration with its customers to fully compensate for the increases in input costs, notes Givaudan.

The Flavor Division sales performance was driven by “new wins and good business momentum across all regions”. In the key strategic focus areas of the 2020 strategy sales growth continued to be strong, with double-digit growth in Health and Well-being and single-digit growth in Naturals.

Givaudan’s progress against its strategic targets was presented to the Company’s 2019 annual investor conference held in Vernier, Switzerland earlier this week.

Givaudan CEO Gilles Andrier gave an overview of the 2018 full year results as well as the 2019 first quarter sales and said the company had made a strong start to the year. “Our key strategic focus areas of Naturals, Health and wellbeing, Active Beauty, Integrated solutions and local and regional customers delivered strong growth, supported by the recent acquisitions,” he said.

In January, Givaudan posted its full-year results for 2018 with sales of CHF 5.5 billion (US$5.54 billion), up 5.6 percent on the previous year. Net income decreased to CHF 663 million (US$668 million) in 2018 from CHF 720 million (US$725 million) in 2017. 

In September 2018, Givaudan completed the acquisition of Naturex, following the implementation of a squeeze-out procedure and the delisting of Naturex shares. The deal valued the French-headquartered supplier at around €1.3 billion (US$1.61 billion), or a roughly 42 percent premium over its market capitalization before it was announced at the beginning of the year.

The leading global flavor house also marked its 250th-anniversary last year. In an interview with FoodIngredientsFirst, company executive Henning Hartnacke explains how the company has evolved far beyond its roots to identify itself around the more holistic concept of “taste” rather than mere “flavor” alone.