Givaudan shares goals for next five years

GIVAUDAN, a leader in the creation of fragrances and flavors, aims to outperform the market and deliver a continued strong free cash flow over the next five years. According to the company it aims for:

-Average organic sales growth of 4 – 5%1, in close partnership with customers

-Average free cash flow of 12 – 17% of sales¹, with an increased focus on operational excellence

-Responsible growth, by decoupling growth and environmental impact through ambitious new eco-efficiency targets

“We intend to create further shareholder value through profitable growth and acquisitions. In order to create long-term value, we will capitalize on our market leadership, and most importantly, continue to build close partnerships with our customers,” said Givaudan Chief Executive Officer, Gilles Andrier. “Over the next five years, we aim for continued ambitious financial targets with an average of between 4 and 5% organic sales growth and an average free cash flow between 12 and 17% of sales.”

Givaudan’s success over the next five years will be rooted in its three-pillar roadmap to create responsible growth and shared success:

Solutions for health and well-being

The company will maintain its strong commitment to keep customers at the heart of its business. It will leverage its knowledge of local, regional and global markets and consumer preferences together with its unique development capabilities.

Givaudan will further expand its strong position within high growth markets including China and India. The company will capture growth from consumer preferred products, especially in categories and markets where evolving preferences present further opportunities. It will focus on solutions that address the consumer demand for products for health and well-being, including those that target aging and obesity.

Finally, Givaudan will look beyond its core flavors and fragrances to integrated solutions that enhance the company’s value proposition to customers and create new avenues for growth. It targets to create an incremental value through acquisitions in the areas of integrated solutions for food and beverages, as well as health and well-being, which also includes active cosmetic ingredients.

Delivering with excellence

Givaudan embraces a mindset of excellence and incorporates this into all of its products, services and business processes to deliver a superior customer experience.

“We will drive both a deep customer focus and further efficiency improvements throughout the organization to strengthen our value proposition while controlling our costs,” commented Matthias Währen, Chief Financial Officer. “The Company remains committed to returning a significant portion of its free cash flow to shareholders and maintaining our current dividend practice over the next five years.”

Partnering for shared success

The company is determined to be a ‘partner of choice’, creating shared success for the Company and its key stakeholders. It will continue investment into innovation, increasing its network of strategic partners and expanding its bioscience capabilities. It will invest in talent and foster an ideal workplace and contribute to the success of the Company. In collaboration with suppliers, Givaudan will enhance its responsible sourcing while optimally managing its supply risk and cost to deliver the best ingredients. Finally, Givaudan will minimize its impact on the environment while strengthening the social and economic fabric of the communities within which it operates.

Environment goals

Givaudan will be able to meet its eco-efficiency targets for 2020 ahead of schedule. The company will strengthen its 2020 eco-efficiency targets (energy, waste and CO2), to reflect its ambition to decouple growth and environmental impact. It aims to stabilize environmental impact while increasing production volumes.

The goals will be achieved by implementing initiatives to reduce its annual CO2 footprint by at least 4% of the absolute CO2 footprint of the previous year. In addition, the company will reduce its waste production and energy consumption per tonne of product by 4% each year as compared to the previous year. Finally, Givaudan reiterates its commitment to reducing water usage by 15% per tonne of product between 2010 and 2020. 

¹ Financial targets: Organic sales and free cash flow are both average targets over the five year period