Givaudan to keep raising prices after Q1 sales grew 4.6%

ZURICH (Reuters) -Fragrance and flavour maker Givaudan on Tuesday confirmed its mid-term targets and said it would keep raising prices this year to offset higher input costs after like-for-like sales rose 4.6% in the first quarter.

Givaudan and its peers have limited exposure to Russia and Ukraine, including for ingredients coming from these countries, but are pushing through price increases to make up for higher raw material and energy costs.

"With higher input costs in 2022, the company is continuing to implement price increases in collaboration with its customers to fully compensate for the increases in input costs," the Swiss group said in a statement.

Sales at its taste & wellbeing business increased by 6.4%, while sales of its fragrance & beauty unit that faced a tougher comparison base were up 2.7%.

It saw strong demand for its fine fragrances for perfumes as well as for flavours for beverages, dairy and snacks, while sales of fragrances for consumer products like toothpaste or soap decreased after benefiting strongly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group said.

Givaudan confirmed its mid-term target of 4-5% underlying sales growth and free cash flow of at least 12% on average over a five-year cycle. Group sales were 1.78 billion Swiss francs ($1.91 billion), a 6.4% rise in Swiss francs.

Germany's Symrise said last month it was eyeing acquisitions and expected sales to grow by 5-7% this year on a like-for-like basis. U.S.-based IFF announced price increases across all divisions last month.

($1 = 0.9307 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz; Editing by Michael Shields)