Givaudan CEO: no sign of cooling demand

ZURICH - Swiss fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan has not witnessed a cooldown in demand despite rising global economic uncertainty, its chief executive Gilles Andrier told a Swiss newspaper.

"We are still not observing at the moment any slackening in demand and the good growth momentum is ongoing," Andrier told Finanz und Wirtschaft in an interview released ahead of publication on Tuesday.

"In view of the darkening economic outlook we are, however, careful and prepared for all eventualities," he said.

The Geneva-based company that makes fragrances for Dior and Prada, has grappled with rising input costs this year. But Andrier was confident the company could mitigate higher raw material costs through price hikes.

"We're on track to compensate for half of the additional burden from raw material costs in the current year," he said, although he cautioned high prices would not go away.

"Due to rapid growth in emerging markets and the growing world population, natural resources will become increasingly scarce. Against this backdrop, I am counting on rising prices in the long-term, in the short-term there may be some relief."

Andrier said Givaudan hoped to counter price volatility by striking up alliances with commodity producers and suppliers. (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)