Symrise AG reliably continued its profitable growth course in 2020 despite the challenging environment. The Group increased its sales by 3.3 % to € 3,520 million taking into account portfolio and currency translation effects. In organic terms, sales went up by 2.7 %.

The Group thus significantly outperformed market growth, which is estimated at 1.0 % for 2020. At the same time, Symrise stayed behind its defined sales target, as the business development in the month of December was impacted by a criminal cyber-attack.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 5.8 % to € 742 million in 2020. Profitability reached an outstanding level with an EBITDA margin of 21.1 % and was within the expected margin range. Against the backdrop of the good performance, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board propose a dividend increase to € 0.97 for the fiscal year 2020 to the annual general meeting.

Commenting the result, Dr. Heinz Jürgen Bertram, CEO, Symrise AG, said: “In the historically exceptionally difficult year 2020, Symrise AG achieved a very solid result. Despite the shifts in demand resulting from the global coronavirus pandemic, we did an excellent job of staying on track until our progress was thwarted by a criminal cyber-attack on the final miles.

“Even though we were not able to fully achieve our growth targets, we nevertheless kept our profitability at a high level and continued to increase earnings. Once again, this success proves that we have a robust business model and that our dedicated employees reliably create value. We therefore also want our shareholders to participate in the success of the Company for 2020. The Executive and Supervisory Boards will propose a dividend of € 0.97 to the annual general meeting. This is the eleventh dividend increase in succession.”

“Battling the pandemic will continue to define people’s everyday lives and economic conditions in 2021. However, we look with confidence into the current financial year and expect reliable demand. Against this background, we are targeting organic sales growth of 5 to 7 % and an EBITDA margin of around 21 %.”