International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) announced yesterday that it appointed J. Erik Fyrwald as its CEO and Board Director.
Old CEO, Frank Clyburn, will remain with the company until March 31st to help with the transition.
“The appointment of Mr. Fyrwald will likely be viewed constructively by investors due to his prior experience in Materials/Chemicals/Ingredients,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said.
“That said, we do not believe the appointment of Mr. Fyrwald will have a material impact on asset sale initiatives that are already well under way given their relevance to IFF achieving its target of 3.0x net debt/EBITDA target by YE24.”
The company has also confirmed its sales forecast for the full year of 2023, maintaining an outlook ranging between $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion, which is in line with the consensus.
IFF anticipates its adjusted operating EBITDA for the fiscal year to be at the mid to high end of the previously communicated range of $1.85 billion to $2.0 billion.
“The Q4 pre-release suggests operations are on track: the prospect of a fresh strategic vision should help narrow the wide valuation discount with peers,”
Erik Fyrwald, the newly appointed CEO, previously held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Syngenta.
Analysts at Jefferies raised the rating to Buy from Hold with a price target of $112 per share, up from the prior $73.
“The CEO change, in our view, finally positions IFF for several years of sustainable structural improvement… We recommend buying the dips,” they said.