Symrise Group has hailed a “dynamic start” to the business year and saw an organic increase of sales by 10.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Taking account of negative currency translation effects, sales rose by 3.5 percent to € 949.6 million (US$1.1 billion), compared to the prior-year period. 

In spite of the global coronavirus pandemic, all segments recorded strong demand and achieved high organic growth. Sales for the first quarter also reflected catch-up effects resulting from delivery backlogs caused by the cyber-attack in December.

“Symrise has started very well into the first quarter of 2021. The order activities of our customers continued to be defined by the global coronavirus pandemic,” says Dr. Heinz Jürgen Bertram, CEO of Symrise.

“In the first quarter of this year, we also processed the order backlog that resulted from the criminal cyber-attack last December,” he adds.

“Furthermore, we have completely reinstated our IT systems which are fully operational again. We see ourselves very well positioned for the coming months.”

Flavor segment performance
In Symrise’ Flavor segment, sales increased organically by 9.1 percent in the first quarter. Taking negative currency translation effects into account, sales in reporting currency rose by 2.8 percent to €331.5 million (US$400 million) (Q1 2020: €322.6 million; US$390 million).

Applications for beverages and savory products delivered the strongest organic growth in the EAME region, primarily in the national markets of Germany, Ireland, Russia, France and Spain.

Sales in applications for sweets generated moderate organic growth during the first quarter.

Asia-Pacific grew organically in all application areas in the high single-digit or double-digit percentages range. 

The strongest growth was achieved in the application area for sweet products with global and regional customers. The national markets of China, Vietnam, India and the Philippines developed “especially dynamically.”

In North America, the application areas for beverages and savory products increased their sales organically by double-digit figures each. Demand was particularly strong for beverage applications and for solutions for culinary products. The application area for sweet products generated moderate organic growth.

The supplier’s business in Latin America developed “very dynamically” as well. In this important growth region, all application areas also generated double-digit organic sales growth.

In particular, the national markets of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina underwent “very positive developments.”

The application area for savory products generated the largest growth with culinary products and seasonings, the company notes.

Furthermore, taste solutions for beverages and dairy products experienced strong demand.

Nutrition sees strong growth in all application areas
The Nutrition segment, comprising applications for food, pet food, probiotics and activities of ADF/IDF generated remarkable organic growth of 16.1 percent in the first quarter. 

Taking negative currency translation effects into account, sales increased by 8.3 percent to €244.8 million (US$296 million) (Q1 2020: € 226.1 million; US$273 million) compared to the prior-year quarter.

All business units underwent “very positive developments” in the first three months and achieved organic growth in the double-digit percentage range.

The Food business unit reported notable success in the first quarter. Across all regions, it achieved single or double-digit growth. The national markets of Japan and the USA developed particularly positively.

Meanwhile, the business development of ADF/IDF exceeded expectations in the first quarter and also posted strong organic sales growth within the double-digit percent range. This was driven by high growth in the US, Symrise notes.

The company’s Probiotics business unit, including the majority shareholding in the Swedish company Probi AB, grew by a double-digit percentage amount during the first three months. The North American and EAME regions underwent particularly dynamic growth here.

COVID-19 pandemic recovery
In spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Symrise reports it is fully operational and retains full delivery capability. The company is now targeting organic sales growth of 5 to 7 percent for 2021.

According to Symrise, the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified demand for natural food ingredients. In recent R&D developments, the company harnessed AI to discover novel flavor modulating ingredients in a plethora of plant varieties.

“Battling the pandemic will continue to define everyday lives as well as economic conditions in 2021,” comments Bertram. “However, we expect that the increasing vaccination rates will support the economic recovery.”

“We expect continued reliable demand and will continue to drive forward our growth initiatives. We aim at organic growth of 5 to 7 percent for the current fiscal year.”

Furthermore, the company’s medium-term goals up until the end of 2025 remain unchanged. Symrise intends to increase sales to between €5.5 to 6 billion (US$6.6 to 7 billion). This increase is targeted through an annual organic growth benchmark of 5 to 7 percent and additional targeted acquisitions.

Symrise recently joined the European Brands Association (AIM) in its global initiative AIM-Progress to unite consumer goods manufacturers with suppliers committed to ethical and sustainable supply chains.