Letters from our leadership

Letter from our chairman

Dear shareholders,

As we look back on 2025, and the conclusion of this five-year strategic cycle, I do so with deep appreciation and pride for what Givaudan continues to achieve – a Company defined by creativity, resilience, and purpose. Despite a complex operating environment, we delivered another year of solid financial performance and exceeded our financial targets for the five-year period. I’d like to express my thanks to our Givaudan colleagues, and the Executive Committee for steering the Company to these achievements.

In 2025, Givaudan delivered like‑for‑like sales growth of 5.1%, with a free cash flow of CHF 1,053 million, representing 14.1% of sales. These strong results highlight the resilience of our diversified business model and the agility of our teams, in anticipating and responding to customer needs across geographies and segments. 

Throughout the 2021–2025 strategic cycle, we remained focused on driving sustainable growth and expanding our portfolio through targeted acquisitions, particularly in the nutrition and beauty segments. The key themes of innovation, digitalisation and nutrition, deep customer partnerships and operational excellence were central pillars of our success over the past five years. I am proud of how we have delivered on these priorities and further strengthened Givaudan’s leadership in both Fragrance & Beauty and Taste & Wellbeing. In recognition of these achievements and our longstanding commitment to sustainable value creation, the Board is pleased to propose a dividend of CHF 72.00 per share, marking our twenty‑fifth consecutive annual increase.

Our approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics continues to guide how we create long‑term value. In this report, you will find many examples of how we are doing this. Over this strategic cycle, we’ve focused on ensuring our ESG actions deliver real value to all our stakeholders. We’ve continued to make excellent progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reaching a major milestone for scope 1 and 2 by achieving a 50% reduction. We’ve also brought several exciting new sustainable solutions to market and remained committed to inclusion and wellbeing for our people. We want to continue to improve our safety standards as this shall remain our highest priority. Therefore, we have renewed our safety targets for the next strategy cycle.

Transparency has also remained central to our governance approach. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards of reporting and have included the Swiss Ordinance on Non-Financial Reporting and the Climate-related Financial Disclosure in our 2025 Integrated Report. We consider this as essential to maintaining the trust on which Givaudan’s success has been built. Another aspect of our commitment to transparency and integrity is our continuing collaboration with competition authorities on the ongoing investigation into the fragrance industry.

In August 2025 we announced a leadership succession plan. After more than three decades at Givaudan, including twenty-one years as Chief Executive Officer, Gilles  Andrier will retire in March 2026. On behalf of the Board, I wish to express our profound gratitude to Gilles for his visionary leadership, his inspiration and outstanding contributions that have motivated us day after day to give our best and transformed Givaudan into an industry leader. We are equally pleased to welcome Christian Stammkoetter as Chief  Executive Officer, effective from 1 March 2026. Christian brings extensive experience in the global consumer industry and a strong track record of inspiring teams and driving strategic transformation. The Board has full confidence in his ability to lead Givaudan, alongside a highly experienced Executive Committee, into its next phase of responsible growth.

After nearly twelve years serving on Givaudan’s Board of Directors, and Chairman since 2017, I will be stepping down at the next Annual General Meeting in March 2026. It has been a tremendous privilege to support Givaudan’s journey of growth and transformation alongside an exceptional leadership team and dedicated employees worldwide. The Board will propose the election of Gilles Andrier as Chairman, ensuring continuity and drawing upon his deep knowledge of our business, our customers, and our culture. All Board members will stand for re-election at the 2026 AGM except Board member Tom Knutzen. In addition, the Board will propose the election of Ester Baiget, President and CEO of Novonesis as a new member to join the Board of Directors.

As part of our succession planning, the Nomination Committee regularly reviews the succession of all Executive Committee members, ensuring that we are prepared for any future transitions. I am delighted that we have successfully nominated highly experienced internal leaders to step into the roles of retiring Executive Committee members.

As Givaudan embarks on its 2030 strategic cycle, the foundations are strong: an experienced leadership team, a clear purpose, and a culture grounded in creativity, innovation and performance. I am confident that these strengths will continue to push the Company forward and deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders.

I would like to thank our employees around the world for their dedication, our customers and partners for their trust, and you – our shareholders – for your continued confidence. It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman, and I look forward to following the continued success of Givaudan.

Calvin Grieder
Chairman of the Board of Directors

CEO’s review

A year in review

In 2025, we proudly reached the conclusion of our 2025 strategy, a journey made possible by the commitment of our people, and the support of our customers, investors, suppliers and partners. Throughout this five-year cycle, we achieved fantastic progress, demonstrating growth, agility, and resilience in an ever-evolving environment.

In the final year of this five-year strategic cycle, we are pleased to report we achieved 5.1% like-for-like (LFL sales) growth, a comparable EBITDA margin of 24.2% and a free cash flow of 14.1% of sales, against very strong prior year comparables. This strong financial performance is proof of Givaudan’s ability to compete effectively in a complex external environment.

 

Performance highlights

With this financial performance in 2025, we have been able to exceed on the ambitious financial targets we set as part of our 2025 strategy. Over the five-year period, we achieved average like-for-like sales growth of 6.8% and an average free cash flow of 12.5% of sales. This average growth accelerated when compared to the 4.9% of the 2020 strategic cycle. This is thanks to the strength of our customer partnerships, our industry-leading innovation and disciplined execution in delivering growth with purpose. These past five years have proven to us that we have the right strategy by staying focused on what we do best: providing creative high value-added products and solutions that meet the needs of our customers and desires of consumers.

Acquisition strategy

Our acquisition strategy has been a core enabler of this success, with seven companies joining the Givaudan Group during the last five-year cycle. Through carefully selected partnerships and integrations, we have broadened our portfolio, strengthened our innovation capabilities, expanded over geographies and deepened our customer relationships. Each acquisition has enhanced our ability to offer a broader portfolio of solutions in Taste & Wellbeing and Fragrance & Beauty to our customers. In 2025, we focused on acquisitions to support our regional presence including Vollmens Fragrances based in Brazil and Belle Aire Creations based in the USA. And as we head into the start of our new 2030 strategic cycle, we will continue to actively pursue acquisitions opportunities that align with our strategic focus areas.

Powered by innovation

In this strategic cycle, we have led the industry in product and technology innovation. From functional health and wellness ingredients to advanced delivery systems, neuroscience collaborations and AI‑driven fragrance design these have ensured that we stay at the forefront of addressing fast‑changing consumer needs. In this report you will find details of the extensive innovations we have brought to market over the last five years. I’d like to highlight a couple of innovations in 2025 that illustrate the way we bring added value to our customers. To support the wellness needs of consumers, in Taste & Wellbeing, we launched Zensera™, a patent-pending, lemon-balm extract that supports cognitive performance under stress. We launched green banana powder, a clean-label upcycled ingredient that adds fibre and nutritional appeal to products along with the desired texture and mouthfeel. Developed from marine macroalgae, our new active ingredient Evernityl™, combats skin ageing and promotes youthful skin. And based on neuroscience technology and consumer insights, we launched ChériScentz™, a fragrance design tool for perfumers to evoke feelings of attraction, intimacy in their creations.

Care and safety of our people

The strong business results were combined with tangible progress across key areas linked to our purpose goals including inclusion and safety. For inclusion, our latest engagement score has risen to 82%, reflecting increasing pride and belonging across Givaudan. Most colleagues say they feel respected, treated fairly, and free to be themselves at work. We’ve strengthened inclusion networks, expanded leadership training on inclusive behaviours, and created more spaces for open dialogue. These steps have made inclusion a lived experience, not just an aspiration.

In 2025, we took significant steps forward in reinforcing our safety culture and regaining momentum toward our long-term ambitions. The experiences of the past year have provided valuable learnings, which we have translated into meaningful actions to prevent recurrence and strengthen how we operate. Although we did not fully achieve our 2025 safety target, the dedication and commitment shown by our teams across the world demonstrate our shared responsibility and care for one another. For both topics, they will continue as part of our 2030 roadmap, and we will build on the momentum of the last five years to further embed a safety culture and a place where everyone at Givaudan can continue to thrive.

Climate milestones achieved

We continued to embed sustainability deeply within our business and culture, reflecting our commitment to creating positive impact across our value chain. This year marked a new chapter with the introduction of our double materiality assessment under the proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), enhancing how we understand both our influence on the world and the environmental and social factors shaping our future success. We achieved a major milestone by reducing our scope 1+2 emissions by 50%, a testament to the dedication and collaboration of our teams globally. At the same time, we stabilised our scope 3 emissions footprint which is an important achievement in a period of strong business growth. Finally, we recently received a CDP A score for climate action, our seventh consecutive A-rating, which really underscores the progress we are making towards our net-zero ambition.

Leadership transitions

This coming year brings important leadership transitions. After over 21 years as CEO of Givaudan, and over 30 years with the Company I will be handing over to Christian Stammkoetter on 1 March 2026. It has been an immense privilege and source of joy to lead this wonderful Company. I feel very fortunate to have worked with, and see develop, so many talented colleagues as well as be inspired by such a wide diversity of customers and I am proud to have contributed to the success of their brands. As we set out on the next strategic roadmap for the coming five years, it is the right moment to handover to Christian and I wish him every success for the future. Chairman Calvin Grieder will also step down at the next Annual General Meeting after 12 years of service on the Board, and I am deeply honoured to be proposed for election by the Board of Directors and having the opportunity to continue to contribute to Givaudan’s future.

We have also announced further changes to the Executive Committee. I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to Anne Tayac, currently Head of Givaudan Business Solutions and IT who is retiring in May 2026. Her significant contributions, leadership, and vision, as well as her commitment to our purpose and DNA have left a deep mark on Givaudan, and we will miss her insights and dedication. I am pleased to welcome Christina Yeo, currently Head of Taste & Wellbeing Operations, APAC, a long-standing internal leader to take on this role, effective 1 May 2026.

In addition, Fanny Iglesias, currently Deputy Group Counsel Fragrance & Beauty and Deputy Integrity Officer, will become Chief Legal & Compliance Officer and will also join the Executive Committee from 1 April 2026, succeeding Roberto Garavagno, currently Group Counsel & Integrity Officer. Roberto will retire after a distinguished career of nearly 30 years within Givaudan where he has been instrumental in shaping the Company’s legal and integrity framework and we extend our deepest appreciation for his contributions. The addition of this role to the Executive Committee underscores Givaudan’s focus on upholding the highest standards of compliance and ethics.

Givaudan’s next chapter

As we embark on our journey towards 2030, Givaudan is ready to build on its strong foundations and embrace a new chapter of sustainable growth with our customers. Guided by our purpose, we will continue to leverage our strengths to further build our position as the undisputed leader in our core business of fragrances and flavours, as well as in selected high value-added adjacencies.

Our strategy for the next five years focuses on extending our customer reach, deepening our geographical presence and expanding our portfolio, enabled by innovation, operational excellence and a deep commitment to people, nature and communities. With confidence in our proven business model and optimism for the opportunities ahead, we look forward to shaping a future that is as inspiring and enduring as the creations we bring to the world.

To our colleagues, partners and shareholders, I extend my heartfelt thanks for your continued trust, passion and partnership. We move forward together with confidence and optimism to create lasting value and positive impact for all.
 

Gilles Andrier
CEO