Symrise navigates challenging market with strong H1 profitability and strategic shifts

Functional ingredients supplier Symrise has released its first-half 2025 results, highlighting the strong performance of its Taste, Nutrition & Health segment. The segment saw a slight 0.5% reported revenue decrease to €1,564 million (US$1,789 million), taking into account portfolio adjustments and exchange rate effects, including a €10 million (US$11.4 million) impact from the 2024 sale of its beverage trading business. However, underlying profitability remained evident.

Taste, Nutrition & Health achieved 3.3% organic sales growth and a notable 120 basis point increase in its EBITDA margin, reaching 23.3%.

Within this segment, the Food & Beverage division showed positive development with mid-single-digit growth. Notably, Beverages saw continued strength with double-digit organic growth, while Naturals recorded single-digit percentage growth. Savory products also experienced increased sales across all regions.

Meanwhile, the segment’s Pet Food division maintained flat organic sales, which the company attributes to “continued cautious consumer sentiment across key markets.”

One Sym Transformation

The company’s “One Sym Transformation” initiative also contributed to its improved financial health. Jean-Yves Parisot, CEO of Symrise, commented on the strategic direction: “Over the past year, we have successfully laid the groundwork of our multi-year One Sym Transformation and are now firmly entering the next phase of our journey.”

Under its transformation initiative, Symrise is progressing out of its “Design & Implementation” phase into “Activation.” As part of this, Symrise has identified portions of the portfolio that are “non-core” and that do not align with its focus on high margin and low capital intensity.

This includes the Aquafeed business, a specialized operation in the valorization of tilapia, tuna, and shrimp by-products. The divestiture of the Costa Rica site and closing of the Ecuador site are expected to result in an “annual portfolio effect close to €10 million (US$11.4 million).” 

Additionally, Symrise is “seeking strategic alternatives” for its terpene ingredients business, which is part of its Aroma Molecules division.

Parisot elaborates: “While our Transformation is starting to gain momentum, as evidenced by our strong profitability performance, we are observing a shift in global market demand, with heightened consumer caution across certain sectors.”

“Taking this into consideration, we feel it is prudent to moderate our organic sales guidance to a range of 3–5% from our previous outlook of 5–7%. At the same time, we continue to ramp up our self-help initiatives and are increasing our EBITDA margin target to approximately 21.5% for 2025 from our previous outlook of around 21%.”

The company reports significant strides in cost management, realizing €20 million (US$22.9 million) in cost savings in H1 as part of a larger target of €40 million (US$45.8 million) in recurring cost savings through efficiency improvements for 2025. 

These initiatives, coupled with a focus on “profitable sales and efficiency initiatives,” contributed to the overall group’s EBITDA margin increasing to 21.7%, up 100 basis points year-on-year.

Updated full-year 2025 guidance

Symrise has updated its full-year 2025 guidance to reflect a “more challenging than expected global demand environment and transformation efforts.” 

While the company expects to grow faster than the relevant market — which it projects to grow 2-3% in 2025 based on revised estimates globally — it has moderated its organic growth outlook to 3–5% from the prior expectation of 5–7%. 

Despite this, Symrise is increasing its EBITDA margin outlook from ~21% to ~21.5% for the full year and reiterating its Business Free Cash Flow as a percent of sales of ~14%. The company is also formally introducing its annual cost savings target of €40 million (US$45.8 million).

Symrise also reaffirmed its 2028 midterm targets, aiming for an organic CAGR of 5–7%, an EBITDA margin in the range of 21% to 23%, and Business Free Cash Flow percent of sales of more than 14%. 

“Amid an increasingly challenging consumer backdrop, our efforts will result in a structurally stronger Symrise and position us well to capture market share and deliver operating leverage as demand strengthens,” Parisot concludes.

Last May, Nutrition Insight met Symrise on the show floor of Vitafoods Europe 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. The supplier featured several new innovations ahead of its acquisition of biotics specialist Probi. The companies showcased a suite of natural, science-backed solutions tailored for human and pet health.