Jan 29 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan reported organic sales growth of 5.1% for 2025 on Thursday, below the 5.2% average expected by analysts in a company-compiled consensus
Givaudan sales slowdown sends flavour maker's shares falling
Givaudan's Financial Performance Overview
By Rafal Wojciech Nowak and Cian Muenster
Impact of Regional Sales on Overall Growth
Jan 29 (Reuters) - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan missed expectations for yearly organic sales growth on Thursday, as a weaker performance of its flavours business outweighed resilient growth in fine fragrances.
Challenges in the Flavours Business
As of 0925 GMT, the company's shares were down around 4.5%, trading at their lowest levels since October 2023.
Dividend Proposal and Profit Analysis
Annual growth slowed to 5.1%, missing the 5.2% market forecast and Givaudan's own 5.5% guidance. The miss was largely down to the Taste & Wellbeing business, which supplies flavours for food and drinks, analysts from Jefferies said in a note.
Notably, the flavours unit's sales in the Asia Pacific fell 0.8% on a like-for-like basis, the only region to see no growth in 2025, Givaudan said.
Annual sales growth moderated in several markets, following an exceptionally strong 2024, finance chief Stewart Harris told Reuters, adding the year was marked by tougher conditions for Taste & Wellbeing in some regions, including Southeast Asia and Mexico.
The Fragrance & Beauty business, which creates scents for perfumes and household products, saw its like-for-like sales rise 7.9%, driven by an 18.3% surge in fine fragrances that offset a decline in ingredients for fragrances and beauty products.
Chinese and Indian competition was fierce in parts of the fragrance ingredients portfolio, Harris said, but added Givaudan’s higher share of speciality products worked as a buffer.
The company expects a relatively limited impact from raw material costs in 2026, though tariff-related effects remain uncertain, he said.
Givaudan also faces pressure from the strengthening of the Swiss franc on its unadjusted results, as it generates most of its sales in foreign currencies that lose value when converted.
Its net profit fell 1.7% to 1.07 billion francs in 2025, as the strong reporting currency stripped 370 million francs from sales.
Givaudan proposed an annual dividend of 72 francs per share, up 2.9% from last year's payout.
($1 = 0.7650 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Rafal Nowak and Cian Muenster in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
