Company Reports

Symrise reported organic sales growth of 4.5% in the second quarter, a sharp turnaround from the 0.4% decline in the first quarter. The result comfortably beat consensus expectations of 3% organic growth, while EBITDA margin came in line. Shares were up around 5% in intraday trading on July 30.

Symrise’s organic sales declined 0.4% in the first quarter of 2026, driven by negative pricing that was slightly offset by positive volumes. The 2026 guidance was reaffirmed. Shares rose about 6% intraday on April 29.

Symrise is one of the four largest companies in the global flavour and fragrance industry. It creates bespoke flavour and fragrance formulations from over 10,000 natural and synthetic raw materials for its customers, which manufacture consumer staples such as food, beverages, and household-care products. F&F companies occupy a strong position in the value chain because their products make up only a small portion of the final product cost but play a decisive role in a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Symrise’s organic sales grew 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by volume across both segments and accelerating sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 120 basis points for the full year. Despite this, 2026 guidance calls for only 2%-4% organic growth. Shares fell about 2% intraday.

Symrise is one of the four largest companies in the global flavour and fragrance industry. It creates bespoke flavour and fragrance formulations from over 10,000 natural and synthetic raw materials for its customers, which manufacture consumer staples such as food, beverages, and household-care products. F&F companies occupy a strong position in the value chain because their products make up only a small portion of the final product cost but play a decisive role in a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Symrise reported organic sales growth of 1.4% in the third quarter of 2025. In light of the slower growth, Symrise has once again trimmed its full-year top-line guidance, leading to a 4% drop in the stock price during intraday trading on Oct. 28.

Symrise is one of the four largest companies in the global flavour and fragrance industry. It creates bespoke flavour and fragrance formulations from over 10,000 natural and synthetic raw materials for its customers, which manufacture consumer staples such as food, beverages, and household-care products. F&F companies occupy a strong position in the value chain because their products make up only a small portion of the final product cost but play a decisive role in a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Symrise's organic sales growth slowed to 2% in the second quarter, with a muted volume contribution of just 0.8%. The result came in below the 4.1% Vara consensus, and a downward revision to full-year guidance led to a 5% drop in the stock price during intraday trading on July 30.

Symrise delivered first-quarter organic sales growth of 4.2%, ahead of the 3.5% Vara consensus. Management reaffirmed the full-year guidance. Shares were up around 4% on April 29.

Symrise is one of the four largest companies in the global flavour and fragrance industry. It creates bespoke flavour and fragrance formulations from over 10,000 natural and synthetic raw materials for its customers, which manufacture consumer staples such as food, beverages, and household-care products. F&F companies occupy a strong position in the value chain because their products make up only a small portion of the final product cost but play a decisive role in a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Ingredient producer shares initially showed resilience following the tariff news on April 2 because it had limited direct impact on them. However, they were swept up in the market turbulence and corrected by a mid- to high-single digit on April 7 as investors began to digest the implications.

Symrise delivered fourth-quarter organic sales growth of 0.9%, or 5.9% excluding the hyperinflation-related pricing adjustment. EBITDA margin was up 160 basis points to 20.7%, supported by operating leverage and cost-saving initiatives.

Wide-moat Symrise reported nine-month organic sales growth of 11.1%, slightly ahead of the Vara consensus of 10.6%. Management expects full-year organic growth to be around 7%, which, despite being at the upper range of the prior guidance of 5%-7%, would imply a like-for-like sales decline in the fourth quarter, which we view as overly conservative. Still, in reporting currency, Symrise's sales growth amounted to 5.9% year to date, which tracks our expectations for the full year given adverse currency effects, and we're leaving our fair value estimate unchanged at EUR 112 per share. At current levels, shares appear fairly valued.

Symrise is one of the four largest companies in the global flavour and fragrance industry. It creates bespoke flavour and fragrance formulations from over 10,000 natural and synthetic raw materials for its customers, which manufacture consumer staples such as food, beverages, and household-care products. F&F companies occupy a strong position in the value chain because their products make up only a small portion of the final product cost but play a decisive role in a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Wide-moat Symrise reported first-half 2024 organic growth of 11.5% and an EBITDA margin of 20.7%, slightly ahead of Vara consensus of 11.1% and 20.6%, respectively. Despite the solid delivery so far this year, management has maintained full-year guidance for organic growth in the range of 5%-7% and EBITDA margin of 20%, which looks conservative as it would imply a substantial slowdown in growth in the second half of the year. We don't expect to make a material change to our fair value estimate of EUR 108 after we incorporate the latest results into our model. In reporting currency, sales growth amounted to 6.3%, which tracks our expectations for the full year.

Wide-moat Symrise reported organic sales growth of 10.9% for the first quarter of 2024 with strong volume growth of 11.9%, driven primarily by heightened demand in the scent and care segment where volume was up by 19%. Underlying pricing appears to have softened quite substantially compared with fourth-quarter 2023. The company delivered negative 1% pricing, which included a 4% contribution from foreign-exchange-driven pricing actions, primarily related to Argentina. We expect this year, as a whole, to see accelerated volume growth after two years of substantial price increases, some volume weakness related to customer destocking, and customer emphasis on reformulation rather than innovation briefs. In reporting currency, sales growth amounted to 5%, which tracks our expectations for the full year and we’re leaving our fair value estimate unchanged at EUR 108. We believe shares are relatively fairly valued at current levels.

Wide-moat Symrise reported solid organic sales growth of 7.9% for 2023, ahead of our 7.3% forecast and Vara consensus of 7.2%. Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 903 million for 2023 is 2% lower than the prior year and corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 19.1%—at the lower end of the 19%-19.5% guidance the company outlined in December 2023. Some one-offs, primarily related to the Colonel Island production plant disruption, weighed on earnings, with the company reporting a 16% decline in EPS to EUR 2.44.

We confirm our EUR 108 fair value estimate for wide-moat Symrise after reflecting the recent 2023 guidance update in our forecast. The company expects stronger organic sales growth for the year, above the upper end of the previous guidance range of 5%-7%, but softer adjusted EBITDA margin of 19%-19.5%, compared with the previous guidance and our forecast of around 20%. These two developments have a partially offsetting impact and, together with an adjustment for the time value of money, leave our fair value estimate unchanged. Despite the strong organic growth, negative currency translation effects are expected to weigh heavily on the year’s top line and profitability. Detailed 2023 full-year results will be released March 6. At current levels, we believe the share price still offers upside of around 10% for patient investors.

Wide-moat Symrise reported third-quarter 2023 organic sales growth of 6.4%, ahead of the 4.5% Vara consensus. Growth was primarily driven by pricing actions (around 4%), with resilient volumes. Both segments contributed to organic growth, while exchange rates took a toll on reported sales, with a negative impact of 9.4% in the quarter. Management confirmed the 2023 full-year guidance of organic sales growth between 5% and 7% and a normalized EBITDA margin (excluding one-offs) of around 20%, which is aligned with our forecast. The midterm guidance (calling for organic growth between 5% and 7% and an EBITDA margin between 20% and 23%) was extended to 2028 from 2025 previously. Our midterm forecast is consistent with these targets, assuming average organic growth of 6% and an average EBITDA margin of 21% through 2027. Therefore, we make no changes to our forecast at this time and confirm our EUR 108 fair value estimate. We believe shares are attractive, offering an upside of around 15% from current levels.

Wide-moat Symrise reported first-half 2023 EBITDA of EUR 446 million, below our forecast of EUR 484 million and Vara consensus of EUR 479 million. This was primarily due to a one-off hit of EUR 29 million recorded in the scent and care segment, related to a temporary shutdown of its Colonel Island production plant, a business reorganization, and the costs associated with antitrust procedures that were initiated in March by the European Commission. Otherwise, the 8.0% organic growth for the first half was broadly in line with our forecast and the consensus (8.1% in our forecast and 8.6% for consensus), primarily driven by pricing actions. Management reconfirmed the 2023 full-year guidance of organic sales growth at between 5% and 7% and a normalized EBITDA margin (excluding one-offs) of around 20%, which is aligned with our forecast. We don’t expect the one-off impact to be too material to our valuation and maintain our EUR 108 fair value estimate. The share price was down around 2%-3% in early trading, resulting in upside of around 14% to our fair value estimate.