International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF reported adjusted earnings of $1.47 per share in third-quarter 2021, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.39. The bottom line increased 5% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 76 cents compared with the prior-year quarter’s 75 cents.International Flavors’ net sales came in at $3,071 million in the September-end quarter, reflecting a year-over-year surge of 142%. This was driven by the additional sales related to the merger with DuPont de Nemours, Inc.’s DD Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) business.The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,018 million. During the July-September quarter, currency neutral sales were up 11%, aided by mid-teen growth in Nourish and strong increases in Scent and Health & Biosciences.International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Quote Operational HighlightsDuring the reported quarter, International Flavors’ adjusted cost of goods sold was significantly up 168% year over year to $1,991 million. Adjusted gross profit climbed 98% year over year to $3,121 million. Adjusted gross margin came in at 102% compared with the 124% witnessed in the year-ago quarter.Research and development expenses flared up 75% year over year to $156 million. Adjusted selling and administrative expenses shot up 80% year on year to $1,077 million during the third quarter. Adjusted operating EBITDA came in at $648 million compared with the prior-year quarter’s $276 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA margin was 21.1% compared with the year-earlier quarter’s 21.8%.Segmental PerformancesRevenues in the Nourish segment soared 133% year over year to $1,662 million during the September-end quarter. Adjusted operating EBITDA was $327 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 121%.Revenues generated in the Health & Bioscience segment came in at $618 million compared with the year-earlier quarter’s $31 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA was $151 million in the quarter compared with $10 million in the prior-year quarter.Scent segment revenues came in at $580 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $525 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA increased 10% year over year to $130 million.Revenues in the Pharma Solutions were $211 million in the third quarter. Adjusted operating EBITDA was $40 million.Financial PositionInternational Flavors had cash and cash equivalents of $794 million at the end of third-quarter 2021, up from the $657 million witnessed at the end of 2020. Long-term debt increased to $10.8 billion as of Sep 30, 2021, from $3.8 billion as of Dec 31, 2020.International Flavors generated $1,126 million of cash from operating activities in the first nine months of the current year compared with the prior-year period’s $415 million. Capital invested in purchasing property, plant and equipment totaled $242 million during the nine-month period ended on Sep 30, 2021 compared with the prior-year period’s $124 million. Dividend paid summed $466 million in the first nine months of 2021.2021 GuidanceInternational Flavors estimates sales of $11.55 billion in 2021. Adjusted EBITDA margin is projected at 21%, slightly lower than the previous guidance of 21.5%. Given the rising raw material costs, the company is implementing price-hike actions and reducing expenses to support long-term profitability.Price PerformanceIn the past year, International Flavors’ shares have gained 34.3% against the industry’s decline of 2.4%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchZacks Rank & Key PicksInternational Flavors currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).A few better-ranked stocks in the Consumer Staples sector are MGP Ingredients, Inc. MGPI and United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI, each flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.MGP Ingredients has an expected earnings growth rate of 61.4% for 2021. The stock has gained 77.5% in the past year.United Natural Foods has a projected earnings growth rate of 5.2% for fiscal 2022. Its shares have rallied 205.6% in a year’s time. 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