Givaudan, a global leader in the fragrance and beauty industry, has released its financial report for the first nine months of 2023. Despite a challenging operating environment in some key markets, the company achieved positive sales performance and maintained its high standards in product development, operations, and supply chain management.
During this period, Givaudan recorded sales of CHF 5.265 billion ($5.85 billion), representing a 2.9% increase on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. However, due to currency fluctuations, sales decreased by 3.5% in Swiss francs. The company faced sustained higher input costs throughout 2023 but successfully implemented price increases in collaboration with its customers to offset these cost escalations.
Within the Fragrance & Beauty segment, sales reached CHF 2.511 billion ($2.79 billion), showing a solid growth of 6.4% on an LFL basis. Fine Fragrance sales experienced an impressive 13.7% LFL growth, following a high comparable growth of 14.8% in the previous year. Consumer Products sales increased by 5.2% LFL, while Fragrance Ingredients and Active Beauty reported a 1.9% LFL growth.
The positive growth was driven by the strong performance of Fine Fragrances, which continued to attract new business opportunities. Additionally, pricing actions implemented across all business units contributed to the overall growth. Givaudan’s 2025 strategy, “Committed to Growth, with Purpose,” aims to foster growth in partnership with customers by creating innovative products that enhance well-being and have a positive impact on nature, people, and communities.
As part of this strategy, Givaudan has set ambitious targets, including a goal of achieving organic sales growth of 4-5% on an LFL basis and a minimum free cash flow of 12% over the five-year strategy cycle. The company also focuses on non-financial targets related to sustainability, diversity, and safety, aligning with its purpose.
Gilles Andrier, Chief Executive Officer of Givaudan, commented that “We are pleased with our sustained sales growth, with particularly strong performance in Fine Fragrances, high growth markets and Europe. We continue to have a strong focus on innovation to support the unique differentiation that we bring to support the growth of our customers, whilst at the same time delivering on our performance improvement plan objectives. I am very proud of the ongoing commitment of the entire Givaudan organisation in what remains to be challenging times.”
