Fragrance manufacturer Givaudan’s profits down in H1

In the first half of the year, Swiss fragrance and flavour manufacturer Givaudan posted a decline in profits, chiefly due to adverse exchange rate effects in countries like Argentina. On Thursday, the Geneva-based group announced that its net income in the first half of the year fell by 3.4% to CHF371 million (€319 million), while the Reuters forecast was CHF381 million.

Givaudan’s revenue in the period reached CHF2.674 billion, while analysts interviewed by Reuters expected it to be CHF2.650 billion.

Givaudan manufactures flavourings for the food and beverage industries and fragrances for cosmetics and household products, and was chiefly hit by exchange rate losses relating above all to its business in Argentina, where the local currency, the peso, has weakened as a result of the economic crisis gripping the country.

Sales for the fragrance division grew 6.5% to CHF1.2 billion, and those for the flavourings division increased by 4.9%, reaching CHF1.45 billion.

Givaudan stated it has recorded “satisfactory growth (...) in all product categories and all geographical regions.”.