We use cookies to provide you with the best possible experience. They also allow us to analyze user behavior in order to constantly improve the website for you. Privacy Policy
Dear readers,
and
friends of Symrise!
Taking responsibility is becoming ever more important, especially in times of crisis. In our private lives, this means taking care of our family and friends, and increasingly also looking after ourselves and achieving a healthy work-life balance. In a professional context, we are responsible for our work but also for the way we treat the people we work with. Companies have a responsibility too – toward their stakeholders but also toward the world around them. This is particularly true for Symrise: We benefit from the environment and from biodiversity since most of our products are of natural origin. This means that acting sustainably is the way to continue our commercial success – another responsibility.
This responsible approach is serving us well, and we achieved another good result in the past fiscal year. Despite the geopolitical upheaval impacting our supply chains, and despite high inflation and exchange rate effects that more than halved our organic growth, we increased our sales by 7.9 %. This was the 18th successive year of growth. We again outperformed our 5 % to 7 % target for sales growth, putting us in an industry-leading position.
CEO
CFO
President Scent & Care
All segments played their part in this success. Sales in the Taste, Nutrition & Health segment were up by 9.3 % in organic terms. In the Scent & Care segment, the figure was 5.6 %. High growth was also seen for Food & Beverage, for example. Pet Food sales, too, were up sharply, posting double-digit growth in percentage terms. In the Scent & Care segment, the dynamic trend continued particularly in Fine Fragrances, Cosmetic Ingredients, Micro Protection and Sun Protection.
This ongoing positive development was thanks to our three-pillar strategy: growth, efficiency and portfolio. Building on this strategy, we have been the first in the industry to diversify our business model in recent years, making us less vulnerable to crises and economic fluctuations. Where it makes sense, we have added to our core business areas of flavor and fragrances. In 2008, around 10 % of our sales came from products outside our traditional fields. Today, it is already more than 30 %. In 2028, we want these products to account for half of our sales, and we have also defined new medium-term targets for that same year. We intend to generate product sales of € 7.5 to 8 billion, while at the same time maintaining our margin. Our broad regional presence, and a customer base ranging from small regional companies to global corporations, will help us achieve this.
President Taste, Nutrition & Health
Our commitment to greater sustainability is also bearing fruit. We are on course to achieve the target of net zero emissions (Scope 1+2) in 2030. In this way, we are actively supporting the principles of responsible management in the United Nations Global Compact. Our commitment is also reflected in the many awards we have received for our sustainability efforts.
Together with our approximately 13,000 employees, we are excited about the year ahead, which is a very special one for our company. Exactly a century and a half ago, in 1874, Wilhelm Haarmann and Ferdinand Tiemann made a discovery. Working in Holzminden, they developed a process for synthesizing vanillin using the sap of conifer wood. Haarmann went on to establish the company Haarmann & Reimer, which in 2003 merged with Dragoco, another longstanding Holzminden business, to create Symrise. The founders embodied the qualities we want to continue: They took responsibility – for themselves, their employees and all other stakeholders. We, the members of the Executive Board team, feel deeply honor-bound to this tradition. This commitment will not waver one bit under the board leadership of Jean-Yves Parisot, who will succeed Heinz-Jürgen Bertram as CEO. Building on our strong foundation and inspired by a culture that has evolved during more than 150 successful years in business, we will continue to shape our industry and sustainably and successfully operate our company. You can read about how we have put this ambition into practice over the past year in our Corporate Report 2023.
The Executive Board of Symrise AG
President Human Resources & Legal