In a year that presented global companies with many challenging new uncertainties, we stayed focused on innovation-led growth, sharpened our profile, and delivered good performance – underpinned by disciplined execution and your continued trust. In this Integrated Annual Report 2025, we share how we advanced our strategy despite global volatility and macroeconomic headwinds, taking bold steps toward becoming a true Category of One company serving the nutrition, health, and beauty markets.
2025 was a year that tested our grit and agility. Global markets shifted rapidly and macroeconomic pressures intensified, requiring quick responses. Through it all, thanks to the support of our shareholders, employees, customers, and partners, we stayed true to our long-term strategy and continued to strengthen the foundations of dsm-firmenich.
Our purpose served as the rudder that kept us firmly on course: bringing progress to life through sustainable, innovation‑driven growth. It guided every decision as we built a market leader capable of delivering solutions that unite the essential, the desirable, and the sustainable.
This progress was only possible because of the mindset we share across dsm‑firmenich: curious about the future, committed to doing what’s right, accountable for outcomes, and united with our customers.
We are especially grateful to our shareholders for the confidence you continued to show as we guided the company through a year of significant change and market turbulence. Stock valuations across our sector suffered, and this also affected dsm-firmenich. However, we stayed the course, transforming our portfolio and undertaking decisive actions to reinforce our core and keep us laser-focused on innovation-led growth.
Divestment Animal Nutrition & Health
We are pleased to have announced an agreement to divest our Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) business to CVC Capital Partners on February 9, 2026.
This transaction represents a unique opportunity to create two new leading companies in the animal nutrition & health space, while it gives dsm-firmenich the opportunity to pursue its ambitious vision as a consumer-focused company.
ANH will be split into two standalone companies: the “Solutions Company,” including Performance Solutions, Premix, and Precision Services, and the “Essential Products Company,” including Vitamins, Carotenoids and Aroma Ingredients. CVC is a trusted leading global private markets manager with a proven track record in business transformation. We have worked with them before on deals and partnerships to successfully create value and, based on our constructive exchanges, we believe they are the right partner for the ANH business.
Off the back of the divestment announcement, we intend to launch a new share repurchase program to buy back ordinary shares with an aggregate market value of €500 million and reduce the company’s issued capital. The program is planned to commence in the first quarter of 2026.
Our strategy is to reposition ourselves as a company serving the nutrition, health, and beauty needs of the consumer. With three distinct but highly complementary Business Units, a Science & Research organization that is a byword for innovation and sustainability, and an unmatched ingredients portfolio, we are moving at full speed to bring progress to life – for our customers, the consumers they serve, and the world.
Executing our strategy
Persistent external pressures and market uncertainty demanded rapid adaptation in 2025. We translated our innovation pipeline into tangible results, launching many new products – such as the expansion of our human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) portfolio for infant formula; Amberever®, a new captive ingredient for exclusive use by our perfumers; and Maxiren®EVO, a unique award-winning coagulant that enhances cheese texture and yield. These achievements, alongside our progress in operational efficiency and synergy realization, have further strengthened our competitive position.
We are on track to achieve our target merger synergies, contributing approximately €350 million to Adjusted EBITDA. In 2025, the company delivered around €65 million in cost synergies, which brings the total to €175 million. This part of the program was completed by the end of 2025 and is now fully delivered. In addition, we realized around €100 million in revenue synergies during 2025, bringing the total to around €175 million. This contributed around €60 million to EBITDA cumulatively since the merger, of which around €35 million was realized in 2025. The remaining €115 million contribution from revenue synergies will be realized through 2027.
Financial performance
In 2025, we delivered solid financial results in a macro environment that became increasingly challenging over the course of the year. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations reached €1,772 billion. Organic sales grew 3%, reflecting continued demand for our science-driven solutions across our Business Units. Our cash-to-sales conversion rate was 10.5%, underscoring our disciplined approach to working capital and operational efficiency.
In view of these results, the Board will propose an unchanged dividend of €2.50 per share for the 2025 financial year at the Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2026, with a stable to preferably rising dividend policy going forward.
Innovation and sustainability
Innovation and sustainability are the foundation of our long-term vision. Our continuing investments in cutting-edge science capabilities, research centers, and sustainable innovation ensure we remain at the forefront of science-backed solutions for nutrition, health, and beauty.
In 2025, we spent over €600 million on R&D, of which €28 million in CapEx, and produced 109 new first-patent publications. In this Report, you can read more about groundbreaking innovations we launched during the year here.
Sustainability is fully embedded in our business model – not only in how we operate, but also in how we design and deliver products and services. By actively addressing key consumer demands in areas such as preventative health, healthier diets, and wellbeing, we are creating long-term value for our stakeholders while contributing to a healthier planet.
In 2025, we reached a major milestone by sourcing all purchased electricity from renewable sources, advancing our goal of net-zero emissions by 2045. Our CDP Climate A and Water A leadership scores and EcoVadis Platinum score (in early 2026) are testimony to the progress and improvement we have made as part of our continued commitment to sustainability.
Fostering growth
We continued to make investments in our core businesses throughout 2025, reflecting our commitment to innovation, customer partnerships and global leadership. These included:
Opening our Innovation Center in Princeton, New Jersey (USA), to co-create new products with our customers
Starting construction of a production facility in Parma (Italy) for the development of flavors and functional blends
Launching an immersive experience called Connect: Future You in Jakarta (Indonesia) that showcases our fragrance capabilities for Southeast Asia
The inauguration of the Van Marken Food Innovation Center in Delft (Netherlands), designed to accelerate development of more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable food and beverage solutions
The opening of a pet-food-only premix facility in Tonganoxie, Kansas (USA)
Our governance approach
The Board of Directors held 10 meetings in 2025, while the Board Committees each met at least four times. Full details can be found in the Governance, Risk Management, and Business Ethics chapter of this Report. The Board of Directors also provided oversight of all major strategic decisions and maintained close monitoring of the company’s financial performance throughout the year.
We continue to collaborate with the competition authorities following the launch of their investigation into the fragrance industry in 2023.
Changes to our Executive Committee
In 2025, we appointed several new strong leaders to our Executive Committee to strengthen our three core Business Units.
Laetitia Pictet was appointed Chief Legal, Risk and Compliance Officer on May 1, 2025. She succeeded Jane Sinclair, who retired on the same date following a distinguished career of nearly a decade with the company
Alessandre Keller joined on September 22, 2025, and succeeded Philip Eykerman as President of Health, Nutrition & Care (HNC) on January 1, 2026
Philip Eykerman continues in his role as Chief Strategy, M&A, and Transformation Officer, remaining a member of the Executive Committee
Maurizio Clementi stepped up as President of Taste, Texture & Health (TTH) on January 1, 2026, following the retirement of Patrick Niels, who retired after a distinguished 34-year career with the company
Ivo Lansbergen, President of ANH, left the Executive Committee on October 1, 2025, to fully focus on leading the ANH business during the final stage of the carve-out.
We thank Patrick and Ivo for their distinguished service and highly valued contributions.
Alessandre and Maurizio each bring a powerful blend of expertise, ambition, and purpose-led business leadership that will help us continue to deliver exceptional value to our stakeholders.
In addition to these changes, in early 2026, we announced that Nikeisha van Sleeuwen will become Chief Human Resources Officer effective April 1, 2026, succeeding Mieke Van de Capelle, who will retire after 10 years of distinguished service.
Looking ahead
With the tuning of our portfolio and the divestment of ANH now decided, dsm-firmenich is well positioned to accelerate the execution of its strategy and grow its core activities.
Today, dsm-firmenich is focused on high-margin, high-growth businesses and on embedding best practices across its commercial and financial operations. By strengthening operational consistency, the company reinforces its solid foundations and drives continuous improvement, elevating operational excellence and customer intimacy.
We remain committed to achieving our mid-term ambitions, including synergy delivery, disciplined capital allocation, and strong cash and operating working capital efficiency. By maintaining a robust balance sheet, we intend to generate sustainable value for all stakeholders.
In conclusion and above all, we extend our gratitude to our shareholders for your support and belief in our long-term vision. Your trust inspires us to pursue excellence and innovation, even in times of uncertainty. We also thank our employees, customers, suppliers, and partners: your dedication and collaboration are vital to our progress.
Thomas Leysen,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dimitri de Vreeze,
Chief Executive Officer
Thomas
Leysen
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dimitri
de Vreeze
Chief Executive Officer