The Switzerland-based fragrance and flavours players said that group sales for 2014 were up 3.7% on a like-for-like basis to CHF4.4bn (Euro4.2bn), while this figure represented an increase of 0.8% in Swiss Francs.
This performance was mainly driven by an increase of 7.0% in sales from developing markets, whereas mature markets grew by 1.1%.
Fragrances drive gains
Like last year, the biggest gains were seen in the company’s fragrance division, where sales were up by 3.6% on a like-for-like basis to CHF2.1bn , which represented an increase of 1.2% in Swiss Francs.
Breaking the fragrance performance down, sales of fragrance compounds, which accounts for both fine fragrances and consumer products combines, increased by 3.2% on a like-for-like basis to CHF1.84bn,a figure that was fractionally down in Swiss Francs.
Fine fragrance sales were up 2.5% on a like-for-like basis, whereas consumer product sales were up 3.3%. Sales of fragrance and cosmetics ingredients increased by 7.4% on a like-for-like basis.
Flavours hit harder by currency
Similar gains were seen in the flavours side of the business, with like-for-like sales up 3.7% to CHF2.3bn, but the flavours markets were harder hit by currency translations, which meant that the gain was only 0.4% in Swiss Francs.
Both EBITDA and net income were driven by operational improvements, with EBITDA increasing by 8.5% to CHF1.05bn and net income increasing 14.9% to CHF563m.
The company said that the increased bottom line also translated into a stronger financial position, with net debt as of December 2014 standing at CHF795m, compared to CHF816m for the previous year.