Adds earnings details and context in paragraph 2 and bullet points
April 29 (Reuters) - Germany's Symrise SY1G.DE reported a small organic decline in its first-quarter sales but narrowly beat market expectations on Wednesday, boosted by higher pricing and its food and beverage business.
The group's taste, nutrition and health division, which produces ingredients used in food, beverages and pet food and made up around 60% of Symrise's revenue last year, recorded revenue of 749 million euros ($876 million), up 1.7% organically.
Overall, the flavour and fragrance maker's Q1 revenue dropped 0.4% organically to 1.25 billion euros
Analysts had on average forecast revenue of 1.23 billion euros in a Vara poll
Symrise said its "ability to navigate a dynamic operating environment" and cost savings drove sales
A Reuters analysis of actions taken by around 175 companies globally in Q1 shows that chemical players are among the hardest hit by the war in the Middle East
Of the 27 actions tracked in the sector, just over half involved financial pressure, guidance cuts or price hikes in response to rising costs of fuel and other petrochemicals
($1 = 0.8548 euros)
(Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
((Dimitri.Rhodes@thomsonreuters.com))