THE NATURE OF OUR BUSINESS – STABLE GROWTH - Symrise

cludes the Symrise share, declined by a slightly greater amount,
ending the year at 5,602 points, down some 43% over the course
of 2008.
Despite positive expectations on the part of analysts and a positive
response from investors, in the first quarter of 2008 the
Symrise stock fell under its initial listing of € 17.25. Subsequently,
shares of consumer product companies – who are supplied by
Symrise AG and who therefore serve as a key indicator for it – were
particularly hard hit by developments in the stock markets. Consequently,
the price of the Symrise stock continued to decline. In
light of the ongoing financial crisis and its impact on the global
economy, stock markets worldwide underwent another major wave
of consolidation beginning in July 2008. As a result, the Symrise
stock reached its lowest price for the year – € 7.75 – on October
28, 2008, subsequently posting gains in the following weeks. It
closed on December 30, 2008, at € 9.98, down 48% for the year.
The performance of the Symrise stock thus reflected the performance
of the MDAX ® over the course of 2008.
The decline in the stock markets continued in 2009. The Symrise
stock price also continued to fall, closing at € 8.01 on February 18,
2009, when the 2008 Annual Report went to press.
We expect stock markets to experience considerable volatility in
2009 and possibly to continue their downward trend. The defensive
nature of our business model, however, should serve our share
price well during these difficult, uncertain times.
Trading Volume and Market Capitalization:
Increase in Turnover
The average daily turnover of Symrise stock in the XETRA electronic
trading system, which accounts for some 94% of total trade
in the Company’s shares, rose in 2008 by 50% to 760,000 shares
per day. (In the 2007 financial year, the figure was approximately
505,000 shares.) On the busiest days, more than 2,000,000
shares changed hands. With a market capitalization of € 1.1 billion
– based on the free float of 94% – the Symrise stock was ranked
13th within the MDAX ® at the end of 2008. With that, it has a
weighting of 2.6% within the index.
Shareholder Structure: Free Float Constant at 94%
The shareholder structure did not change to any significant degree
in 2008. The vast majority of our shares are held by institutional
investors in English-speaking countries. The largest single shareholder
is Gerberding Vermögensverwaltung, which holds 6% of
our stock.
Annual Report 2008 Symrise AG 41
REGIONAL SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE
in %
15
USA
20
Other
15
Germany
Source: Symrise estimate
50
Great Britain
Investor Relations: In-Depth Dialog with the Capital Market
Our ongoing, in-depth dialog with analysts as well as institutional
and private investors is very important to us. The goal of the dialogue
is to communicate Symrise’s development and strategic
alignment transparently and openly and thereby achieve a realistic
and fair valuation of our stock on the capital market.
At our analysts’ conference in March 2008, the board presented
to some 60 analysts and investors detailed information on fiscal
year 2007, the Company’s strategy and sales and earnings expectations
for fiscal year 2008. The Company’s performance was
also discussed at length during three telephone conferences held
in the first three quarters of 2008, which had an average of 50
participants.
We were able to welcome some 200 shareholders to our second
regular Shareholders’ Meeting, held on April 29, 2008, in Frankfurt,
Germany. The attendees represented some 70% of our share
capital, and they approved the individual items on the meeting’s
agenda with no less than 98.9% agreement.
Company