Symrise to double pet food unit sales on pandemic-fueled boom (updated)
01/09/2021 13:19
(Adds details, background)
By Patricia Weiss
Sept 1 (Reuters) - German flavour and fragrance maker
Symrise SY1G.DE plans to double annual sales at its pet food
ingredient unit in the medium term as the pandemic fuelled an
industry boom, the company's chief executive told Reuters in an
interview published on Wednesday.
Symrise entered the pet food business in 2014 with its 1.3
billion euro ($1.54 billion) takeover of Diana Group and
periodically added new acquisitions such as that of ADF/IDF, a
U.S. maker of ingredients for dog and cat food, in 2019.
"We will invest in pet food additives as a priority and
continue to grow there without a question," Chief Executive
Heinz-Juergen Bertram said. "In the medium term, we see it as a
business with more than a billion euros in sales."
The unit's 2020 sales came in at around 500 million euros.
The company raised its group full-year outlook in early
August, citing demand recovery for ingredients used in perfumes,
sunscreen, beverages or sweets associated with dining out thanks
to easing lockdowns. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2PC09R
The CEO added Symrise's full-year margins will exceed 21%
but revenue growth may only reach up to 10% due to raw material
costs and supply chain uncertainties, though its business is
still in a strong position.
"We have so many legs to stand on. Even if one unit isn't
doing so well, others usually make up for it. That's what makes
us tick," Bertram said.
At the same time, there are still areas where the company
can expand such as its cosmetic ingredients business, Bertram
said, adding Symrise regularly looks at five to ten acquisition
candidates.
Earlier on Wednesday, the company announced it was buying a
25% stake in Kobo, a maker of ingredients for sun protection and
colour cosmetics. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nASN001M2Q
The CEO also said Symrise can finance all planned
acquisitions but will divest businesses that don't meet the
expectations for annual growth of 5% and long-term margins of at
least 20%.
($1 = 0.8465 euros)
(Writing by Zuzanna Szymanska in Gdansk, editing by Kirsti
Knolle and Louise Heavens)
((zuzanna.szymanska@thomsonreuters.com; + 48 58 769 65 61;))