FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Symrise CEO Jean-Yves Parisot, who has been in office since April, is increasingly focusing on profitability. "It is time for consolidation," said the CEO of the fragrance and flavorings manufacturer in a roundtable discussion with journalists in Frankfurt on Tuesday evening. Parisot's predecessor, Heinz-Jürgen Bertram, had driven growth with numerous acquisitions after taking office in 2009. Investors held Bertram in high esteem. The share price rose by almost 900 percent during his time in office. However, in addition to strong growth, they also demand higher profitability. In other words, more profit should be left over from turnover in future. However, the DAX-listed company is not facing a fundamental change of direction, rather Parisot is talking about "evolution".

Following the acquisitions of the past few years, the plan is to harmonize IT systems and review the business portfolio. Purchasing, with a large number of suppliers of certain raw materials in some cases, and the number of thousands of products, some of which are very individual, are also on the checklist. Parisot refers to this as rationalization. One solution he sees is certain standard basic products, which are then configured and individualized according to customer requirements.

Under Parisot, for example, the Aqua Feed division, which deals with additives for aquaculture feed, could be up for discussion. The business fluctuates greatly and the margins are not particularly high, explained the manager. This needs to be considered.

Meanwhile, the focus of business expansion is on health applications, for example. The Swedish companies Probi and Swedencare are also likely to play a role here. Symrise holds around 70 percent of Probi, a manufacturer of probiotics for the cosmetics and food industries. The DAX-listed company has now increased its stake in Swedencare to more than 40 percent. The company offers nutritional supplements for the oral hygiene of animals.

Parisot is expected to make a concrete statement on his ideas in October as part of a planned strategy update. In the meantime, the medium-term sales target of 7.5 to 8 billion euros in 2028 has been set, as he said on Tuesday evening. By way of comparison: in 2023, Lower Saxony generated a good 4.7 billion euros. Organic growth is expected to continue to average 5 to 7 percent per year. This will be supplemented by acquisitions. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to reach 20 to 23 percent in the medium term. In 2023, this EBITDA margin was below the lower end of the target range./mis/niw/zb