The German firm said the largest growth in cosmetic ingredient sales was gained in the EAME (Europe, Africa, Middle East) and Latin America regions.

The sun protection and micro protection business units in particular saw strong gains.

Sales of Scent & Care, the business with fragrance applications, aroma chemicals and cosmetic ingredients, increased by 13.7% year on year to €516.4m (Q1 2023: €454m; in organic terms, sales rose by 16.9%.

Symrise reaffirmed its long-term growth and profitability targets for 2024. The company continues to expect that it will grow faster than the relevant market, for which long-term growth of around 3% to 4% is forecasted.

The company’s long-term organic growth expectation is unchanged at 5% to 7% (CAGR). By the end of 2028, Symrise is seeking to achieve annual sales of €7.5 billion to €8.0 billion.

Assuming that raw material costs remain largely stable, the company is anticipating an EBITDA margin of around 20 % in 2024.

In the medium term, Symrise is aiming to achieve an EBITDA margin in the range of 20% to 23%.

A business free cash flow of around 12% in relation to sales is targeted for 2024; the company is aiming for a figure of 14% in the medium term.

Symrise chief executive Jean-Yves Parisot said: “Despite the sustained volatility in our markets, we are very optimistic for the months ahead and expect robust demand.

“Our diversified portfolio, our innovative offers and global positioning give us the necessary strength to continue leveraging our growth potential and thus create sustainable value for our customers and ourselves.

“We are on course to achieve our targets for the current year and our long-term targets through to 2028 as communicated.”