Key Takeaways:Fragrance strength remains a bright spot, even as suncare continues to drag Beauty margins.Innovation-led execution, particularly in actives and biotech, is driving premium ingredient demand across personal care.Merger integration continues to outperform expectations, with clear EBITDA leverage already in motion.DSM-Firmenich posted a solid first half of the year, reporting €6.51B ($7.53B) in net sales (up 7% organically) and adjusted EBITDA of €1.26B ($1.45B), a 29% increase year over year. Margins improved by +390 basis points to 19.4%, as the company continued to realize merger synergies and gains from its vitamin transformation program.“We are pleased to report a good performance in the first six months, with good organic sales and earnings growth and the effective execution of our strategic plan,” said DSM-Firmenich CEO Dimitri de Vreeze.Beauty & Perfumery Present Selective StrengthThe company's Perfumery and Beauty Division delivered 1% volume-driven organic sales growth, with strong gains in fragrance more than offsetting softness in suncare and beauty filters. When adjusted for suncare declines, volume growth was closer to 5%.“With our broad exposure to key market trends in nutrition, health, and beauty, we deliver innovative solutions that provide critical performance to essential everyday consumer products,” de Vreeze stated.The division's adjusted EBITDA margin of 22% reflects strong fundamentals in perfumery but was tempered by adverse foreign exchange and product-mix effects in beauty care.