Overall, sales in the first nine months of 2021 rose by 5.8 percent to 5.07 billion francs, as Givaudan announced on Tuesday. Organic growth was 7.4 percent in the third quarter, which is a slight slowdown compared to the first half of the year at +7.9 percent. However, the value is still well above the medium-term target of 4 to 5 percent.
The driver of the good business development was the “Fragrances & Beauty” area, in which the luxury perfumery in particular had suffered severely from the corona pandemic in the previous year. After three quarters, the division’s sales increased organically by 8.4 percent to 2.38 billion Swiss francs. The larger “Taste & Wellbeing” division also grew organically by 7.2 percent year-on-year to 2.78 billion.
The figures slightly exceeded the expectations of the analysts.
Despite the ongoing corona pandemic, global supply chains are still tense, writes Givaudan. The growth was spread across all product segments and regions, with the emerging markets growing slightly faster than the mature markets.
Looking ahead, the group confirmed the five-year plan drawn up last summer. During this time, Givaudan plans to grow organically by 4 to 5 percent per year, faster than the market. In addition, the free cash flow rate of return, measured against sales, should be over 12 percent.