Dsm-firmenich, a leading supplier of fragrance ingredients to luxury houses such as LVMH and Kering, has narrowed its 2025 profit forecast, pointing to persistent foreign exchange volatility as a key challenge.
Fragrance ingredients from dsm-firmenich’s Sharing Innovation Collection – Dsm-firmenich
The Swiss-Dutch group, known for its role in the global beauty and fragrance supply chain, now expects adjusted EBITDA to reach €2.4 billion ($2.74 billion), down from a previous estimate of at least €2.4 billion.
“In the underlying core business, nothing has changed, but FX — obviously, we can’t control,” CEO Dimitri de Vreeze told Reuters, adding that he sees continued uncertainty in the second half.
Dsm-firmenich, whose products are used in perfumes made by French luxury groups LVMH and Kering, reported adjusted core profit of €610 million for the first half. That beat analysts’ average forecast of €513 million, based on a company-compiled consensus.
“It’s like a duck that’s nicely floating, but there’s a lot of hard work underneath to keep it moving. That you don’t see. But here we see a relatively good duck in good order for the first half, and we’re confident for the second half,” the CEO told Reuters.
In February, the company sold its stake in a joint enzymes venture to Danish group Novonesis for €1.5 billion as part of a strategic revamp aimed at sharpening its focus on core businesses such as perfumes and flavors.
Last year, it announced plans to carve out its animal health and nutrition unit by the end of 2025 — a move expected to reduce exposure to earnings volatility in the vitamins segment.
The unit reported a 293% year-on-year adjusted EBITDA increase to €342 million in the first half, supported by temporary vitamin price effects.
