THE NATURE OF OUR BUSINESS – STABLE GROWTH - Symrise

“AND” Products Grow Faster
Sales of “AND” products rose in local currency by almost 6.5%.
The growth drivers among the “AND” products come primarily
from the Life Essentials and Aroma Molecules business unit. Of all
the “AND” products, Life Essentials accounted for the highest percentage
of sales (50%) as well as for the highest growth rate (12%)
in actual exchange rates. Our new product category bioactive peptides
is arousing keen interest among our customers. In 2008,
we recorded our first sales of this new, future-oriented product
category.
High Sales Growth with Top 10 Customers
Expressed in local currency, sales to our top 10 customers in 2008
increased by around 7%. The top 10 customers now account for
slightly more than 30% of the division’s total sales. We were able
to strengthen our position in the fragrance market in the year
under review. In July, Scent & Care made it onto an important core
list and is now this multinational customer’s preferred provider. In
the medium term, this new core list position could give rise to significant
increases in sales.
Strong Sales Growth in Emerging Markets
Scent & Care sales growth of 3.0% on a local currency basis over
the previous year was driven by solid growth in the emerging markets,
where sales climbed 6% in local currency. As in 2007, sales
in the newly industrializing countries accounted for 36% of our
total. We achieved strong sales growth at local currency in the
growth markets of Indonesia, China and India.
Life Essentials the Growth Engine
Life Essentials is the fastest-growing business unit, with sales in
local currency up 9% on the previous year. The strong increase is
mainly attributable to double-digit growth in North America, Asia,
and South America.
In 2008, Life Essentials entered into a strategic alliance with Cambridge
Theranostics Ltd. (England) to gain access to the promising
and rapidly growing medical food market segment. Medical food
products are health-promoting food supplements made from food.
The aim of this cooperative venture is to develop new products for
this segment on the basis of Symrise’s own active substances.
Additionally, Scent & Care acquired a stake in the US biotech company
Therapeutic Peptides Inc. (TPI). As a result, Symrise now has
access to the highly innovative peptide substance group. Peptides
are used in cosmetic products as highly effective antimicrobial,
anti-aging, or hair-growth-stimulating substances.
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Furthermore, we added organically grown plant extracts to our
product portfolio through a sales partnership with the American
company Bayliss.
Sales in the Fragrances business unit in local currency were
slightly higher than in the previous year, at 1%. The “luxury segments”
Fine Fragrances and Personal Care were confronted with
demand problems, particularly in Western Europe and North America,
due primarily to the downswing in the global economy. The
Household business unit developed very positively in 2008, boosting
sales by 10% on a local currency basis. In this area, we were
able to do new business with multinational customers, particularly
in the US, which significantly lifted our sales.
Aroma Molecules is showing strong growth, particularly in North
America and Asia. In Asia, we posted double-digit sales growth in
2008, which helped the division’s sales increase by 3% in local
currency over the previous year.
Mint grew by 5% in local currency compared to 2007, due mainly
to higher sales in the EAME and Asia regions.
Solid Growth in Q4
Sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 reached € 162.1 million. Including
Intercontinental Fragrances and Manheimer Fragrances,
sales were 8.5% higher than in same quarter of the previous year
(+ 7.2% at at local currency). Even when adjusted for acquisitions,
sales performance was solid in the fourth quarter, with growth of
5.2% to € 157.2 million. In local currency, this represents an
increase of 3.7%. Scent & Care recorded the highest sales growth
rate in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Nonetheless, the sales performance in Q4 2008 cannot be viewed
in isolation. In November and December, our customers postponed
delivery dates of orders to minimize working capital outlays.
Group Management
Report