By Gaelle Sheehan and Victor Goury-Laffont
(Reuters) - Dutch and Swiss chemicals maker DSM-Firmenich on Tuesday flagged cost-saving measures and investments as potential benefits for the future, despite trimming its full-year core profit target.
The newly merged group said in June it planned on restructuring its vitamin activities, hurt by inflationary pressures and China's slow recovery, and to engage in cost-cutting in a bid to save around 200 million euros ($213.1 million) a year by the end of 2024.
DSM-Firmenich shares were up more than 8.5% at 1000 GMT, topping Amsterdam's blue-chip AEX index.
"We'll continue to invest in science, research and innovation to prepare ourselves for the future," CEO Dimitri de Vreeze said on a call with analysts.
He said the group could be looking for acquisitions in the near future and to complete a buyout of minority shareholders.
Questioned on the impact of the success of weight-loss GLP-1 drugs like Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb)'s Wegovy on DSM-Firmenich's activities, de Vreeze said any trend where people think more about their health "is absolutely helping our business".
He did not specify whether the company was planning to invest in the sector.
DSM-Firmenich increased its estimate of the full-year hit to its core profit from vitamin operations to 500 million euros from 400 million euros previously.
The company said it now expects to report around 1.8 billion euros in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) this year, versus a previous estimate of between 1.8 billion and 1.9 billion euros.
It said that in the third quarter its adjusted EBITDA reached 409 million euros, above a company-compiled consensus of 405 million euros.
($1 = 0.9437 euros)