Spice and fragrance sector surges! Have the four global giants reaped windfall profits? Are domestic firms rushing to go public?

Nevertheless, despite minor fluctuations in overall performance, the specialty spice and fragrance segment has demonstrated resilience—defying headwinds and maintaining profitability. Fortunately, after weathering cyclical volatility and crises within the chemical industry, major global spice and fragrance companies finally saw a rebound in performance during the first half of 2024—and sustained strong growth momentum in their latest Q3 financial reports. Givaudan’s Q3 2024 sales rose 10.2% to CHF 1.907 billion (approx. RMB 1.574 billion), with group sales for the first nine months reaching CHF 5.644 billion (approx. RMB 4.618 billion), up 13% year-on-year. Its Fragrance & Beauty division generated quarterly revenue of CHF 956 million (approx. RMB 782.5 million); its total revenue for the first nine months amounted to CHF 2.782 billion (approx. RMB 2.276 billion), up 15.6% at constant exchange rates. DSM-Firmenich reported Q3 2024 revenue of €3.244 billion (approx. RMB 2.494 billion), up 7% year-on-year; its first-nine-months revenue totaled €9.542 billion (approx. RMB 7.334 billion), up 4% year-on-year. Within this, its Fragrance & Beauty business achieved Q3 revenue of €991 million (approx. RMB 761.7 million), up 8% year-on-year; its cumulative revenue for the first nine months reached €2.988 billion (approx. RMB 2.296 billion). Symrise posted an 11.1% organic sales growth for the first nine months of 2024, lifting group revenue to €3.824 billion (approx. RMB 2.937 billion). Its Scent & Care division recorded organic sales growth of 12.2% for the first nine months and 8.4% for Q3 alone, generating revenue of €1.475 billion (approx. RMB 1.133 billion) over the first nine months. IFF reported Q3 net sales of USD 2.925 billion (approx. RMB 2.096 billion), up 4% year-on-year; its total revenue for the first nine months stood at approx. USD 8.7 billion (approx. RMB 6.223 billion). Its Fragrance division achieved Q3 sales of USD 613 million (approx. RMB 438.5 million), with a 10% currency-neutral sales increase on a comparable basis; its cumulative sales for the first nine months totaled USD 1.861 billion (approx. RMB 1.332 billion). 2. Successful IPOs! Domestic firms ride the listing wave With clear performance gains among international flavor and fragrance companies, Chinese firms in the same sector are also seizing the opportunity—sending positive signals of robust development. On September 13, Anhui Traditional Chinese Herbal Flavor & Fragrance Co., Ltd. (“TCM Flavor & Fragrance”) successfully listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange—the latest addition to the ranks of publicly traded companies in China’s daily-chemical flavor and fragrance sector [6], earning the title “First Flavor & Fragrance IPO on the BSE.” Its clients include global top-ten flavor and fragrance enterprises such as Symrise and Givaudan. According to its prospectus, all proceeds raised will be allocated to projects involving cooling agents and fragrance raw materials. In recent years, leading domestic flavor and fragrance enterprises have shown heightened enthusiasm for IPOs, with multiple firms either already listed or actively pursuing listing.

Green Bio: Q3 net profit down 16%; just two months post-IPO, proposes dividend payout equal to 96% of first-nine-months’ profit

On the expense side, financial expenses, selling expenses, and R&D expenses all rose significantly. Specifically, the company’s financial expenses for the first nine months totaled RMB 32.73 million—a sharp 78.56% increase year-on-year—attributed primarily to higher foreign exchange losses. This directly reflects the company’s heavy reliance on overseas sales: in 2025, overseas main-business revenue accounted for 85.21% of total revenue. Selling expenses rose 33.48% year-on-year to RMB 6.77 million, mainly due to higher salaries for sales staff; R&D expenses amounted to RMB 28.32 million, up 6.22% year-on-year. Regarding cash flow, Green Bio generated RMB 127 million in net operating cash flow during the first nine months—a 13.27% increase year-on-year. Net cash flow from financing activities reached RMB 771 million, compared to a net outflow of RMB 33.28 million in the same period last year—mainly attributable to funds raised through its IPO. Its monetary funds stood at RMB 879 million, up 1123.36% from the beginning of the year—also driven by IPO proceeds. Meanwhile, inventory reached RMB 481 million, up 34.21% from the start of the year—attributed by the company to increased stockpiling. Short-term borrowings totaled RMB 421 million, up 84.82% year-on-year—mainly reflecting adjustments to its loan structure and increased short-term bank loans. Accounts receivable rose from RMB 192 million at the beginning of the year to RMB 239 million. (2) Proposed massive dividend payout of RMB 133 million—96% of first-nine-months’ profit Alongside its Q3 report, Green Bio also announced its third-quarter profit distribution plan. The company proposes distributing cash dividends of RMB 10 per 10 shares (tax inclusive) to all shareholders, based on its current total share capital of 133 million shares—without issuing bonus shares or conducting capital reserve conversions. The total cash dividend payout would amount to RMB 133 million. This proposal was first put forward by Chairman Lu Wencong on October 13 and approved by the Board of Directors on October 21. Based on the company’s RMB 139 million net profit attributable to shareholders for the first nine months, the proposed dividend payout represents nearly 96% of that profit. Green Bio specializes in the R&D, production, and sales of flavor and fragrance products, with three core product lines—turpentine oil, cypress oil, and fully synthetic fragrances—covering nearly 40 specific items including sandalwood, methyl cedryl ketone, and damascone. Its downstream customers include major international flavor and fragrance enterprises such as Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich, and IFF, serving broad applications across the daily-chemical sector. From 2023 to 2025, the company achieved revenues of RMB 735 million, RMB 961 million, and RMB 1.075 billion, respectively, and net profits of RMB 92.92 million, RMB 150 million, and RMB 179 million. At IPO, Green Bio planned to raise RMB 690 million, allocating funds to projects including an annual production capacity expansion of 6,300 tons of premium fragrances, intelligent factory upgrades, R&D innovation enhancements, and working capital supplementation. In practice, it issued 33.33 million new shares at RMB 26.33 per share, raising a total of RMB 878 million—with net proceeds of RMB 770 million, exceeding its original target by RMB 80.44 million. Its issue P/E ratio stood at 19.8x. Post-IPO, its stock price experienced a sharp surge followed by a rapid correction.

International Flavors & Fragrances to Report Q3 Earnings

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International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. is scheduled to report Q3 2026 results on November 3rd, with analysts expecting lower sales due to high raw material costs. The company continues its portfolio transformation by selling its Food Ingredients business.

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