Group sales for the nine month period ending in September were up 0.4 per cent in local currencies, but down 3.9 per cent in Swiss francs, at CHF 3.025bn (€1.99bn).
The results were slightly above market expectations, with a Reuters poll of 11 analysts forecasting that the company’s first nine month of sales would come in at CHF 3bn
Flavours comes out best
Breaking the results down according to fragrances and flavours, the latter division came out significantly better, with sales growth coming in at 1.1 per cent in local currency and down 2.9 per cent in Swiss francs to CHF 1.64bn.
The company stressed that sales in its flavours division had been strongly divided on a regional basis, with the developed markets of Europe and North America continuing to be impacted by the economy, while the markets of Asia Pacific and Latin America posted strong growth.
This geographical division was mirrored throughout the company’s results, but was particularly emphasized in the consumer products division, where major growth was recorded in key Asia Pacific and Latin American markets.
The company said that its Latin America group sales during the nine month period had grown at a double digit rate compared to the first nine months of 2008, with corresponding sales in the Asia Pacific region growing at a high single digit rate.
Personal and oral care lead the way
Likewise, the company underlined that personal, oral and fabric care had proved to be the categories driving results for the consumer products division on a worldwide basis.
The performance in the fragrance division was even less dynamic than the flavours division, with sales in local currencies falling 0.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent in Swiss francs to CHF 1.37bn.
However, the company underlined that there has been a marked recovery in the performance of this division, with sales growth in the second quarter clearly demonstrating an upward trend, increasing by 3.1 per cent in local currency.
Fine fragrance boosted by new launches
This trend was also mirrored in its fine fragrance sales, which the company said compared well with the corresponding period in 2008. It also underlined the fact that new fine fragrances launches in Europe and North America had further bolstered the results.
Fragrance ingredients were reported to have picked up well in the third quarter, with the destocking seen earlier in the year now at an end, but sales for the first nine months were still down overall compared to the same period last year.
Looking at the overall results, the company underlined the fact that its performance to date had exceeded global market growth rates, and said it was now confident that it would comfortably exceed global growth rates for the segment in the 2009 financial year.