Flavors and fragrances maker Givaudan lost momentum in 2025 compared to the strong previous year.
Due to negative currency effects, sales rose by only 0.8 percent to 7.47 billion francs (around 8.1 billion euros), as Givaudan announced on Thursday. Organically, i.e. adjusted for purchases and sales as well as currency influences, there was an increase of 5.1 percent – in the previous year it was 12.3 percent. The company’s own target range of 4 to 5 percent was nevertheless exceeded. However, analysts’ expectations were missed.
The company justified the development with broad demand in all regions and business areas as well as price adjustments to compensate for increased costs.
The operating result (Ebitda) nevertheless fell by 0.8 percent to 1.75 billion francs, the corresponding margin to 23.4 percent after 23.8 percent in the previous year.
The surplus was 1.07 billion francs – 1.7 percent less than the year before. Shareholders can still look forward to a dividend of 72.00 francs per share – 2 francs more than in the previous year.
The company does not specify any specific goals for the current financial year. However, the medium-term goals remain unchanged: in August, Givaudan announced organic sales growth of at least 4 to 6 percent per year for the new five-year cycle from 2026 to 2030.
The new cycle is also accompanied by a change at the top of the group. From March, Christian Stammkoetter will take over from long-time CEO Gilles Andrier, who will take over as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Givaudan communicated the personnel along with the new objectives in the summer. Stammkoetter was previously a manager at the French food company Danone, responsible for the Asia, Middle East and Africa region.
Givaudan loses out significantly and drags Symrise down with it
Givaudan shares fell sharply on Thursday following the release of its annual results. The share fell on the SIX at midday by around six and a half percent to 2,935 francs. The paper was at the bottom of the Swiss leading index SMI and also slipped to its lowest level since autumn 2023.
The flavors and fragrances manufacturer missed analysts’ expectations in terms of organic growth in the fourth quarter and operating margin.
The shares of competitor Symrise listed in the DAX fell by three percent to 70.40 euros and were once again among the weakest stocks in the leading index. In the past twelve months, the price fell by around 30 percent, while the DAX rose by 13 percent during the period.
Both the experts at UBS and those at the US bank JPMorgan pointed to Givaudan’s below-average organic sales growth in the final quarter.
The Swiss company also fell short of expectations in terms of profitability. According to UBS, comparable operating profit (Ebitda) in the second half of the year was around four percent below consensus, while JPMorgan spoke of an “unexpectedly weak” adjusted Ebitda margin of 24.2 percent for the full year.
Against this background, analysts expect adjustments to the consensus estimates for 2026. Vontobel, on the other hand, was somewhat more confident. The responsible analyst pointed to a certain stabilization over the course of the final quarter of 2025 as well as the broad diversification that had paid off in a volatile environment.
Despite the short-term disappointment, the current valuation reflects an overly negative view and does not take enough account of the longer-term value creation prospects.
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VERNIER (dpa-AFX)
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