The company divested its Cosmetic Ingredients business, Flavors and Essences UK business, and has agreements to sell its Pharma Solutions business disposal group and nitrocellulose business. These actions indicate a strategic shift in focus.

Currency neutral sales increased 3% compared to 2023, indicating organic growth. However, unfavorable exchange rate variations had a 3% negative impact on net sales, highlighting the risk of international operations.

Starting January 1, 2025, the Nourish segment will be split into Taste and Food Ingredients business units. This reorganization aims to better cater to customer preferences and adapt to market dynamics.

The company is undertaking a productivity enhancement program aimed at enhancing productivity and optimizing its organizational footprint. This indicates management's focus on improving operational efficiency.

Selling and administrative expenses increased by $208 million, primarily due to increased incentive compensation expense, professional fees, legal fees and provisions incurred for the ongoing investigations of the fragrance businesses. This suggests potential challenges in managing costs effectively.

The filing notes several changes in the executive leadership team, including a new Chief Financial Officer and President, Taste. These changes could indicate a shift in strategic priorities or a response to past performance.

The company's total debt was $8.977 billion as of December 31, 2024. This significant debt level could restrict the company's ability to invest in its business, return capital to shareholders, or respond to market changes.

The company is undertaking strategic transactions, including divestitures, which are dependent on various factors outside of its control. Failure to successfully complete these transactions could adversely affect the company's financial condition and strategic goals.

Increased regulatory scrutiny, changing consumer trends (including the rise of weight management drugs), and global economic conditions could significantly affect demand for the company's products, impacting operating results and future growth.

The 10-K filing states that the markets in which the company competes are highly competitive, with competition from large global companies, mid-sized companies, regional and local manufacturers, and even consumer product companies developing their own competing products. This highlights the need for constant innovation and efficiency.

A significant portion of the company's sales is generated from a limited number of large multi-national customers. The competitive pressures faced by these customers could affect the demand for the company's products and profitability.

The company believes its ability to compete successfully is based on understanding consumers, vertical integration, innovation, tailoring products to customer needs, global manufacturing capabilities, and regulatory capabilities. This highlights the importance of adapting to changing market demands.

The filing highlights risks related to supply chain disruptions, geopolitical developments, climate-change events, and inflationary trends. These factors could adversely affect the company's procurement of raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution, impacting productivity and financial results.

The company emphasizes the importance of efficient inventory management to meet customer demands without incurring excessive storage costs. Inaccurate buying decisions could lead to markdowns and negatively impact financial results.

The company's supply chain initiatives are focused on increasing capacity and investing in key technologies. Within more mature markets, the company is focusing on consolidation and cost optimization, indicating an active effort to improve operational efficiency.

The company considers its research and development infrastructure to be one of its key competencies and critical to its ability to provide differentiated products to its customers. This highlights the importance of innovation.

The company may be exposed to risks in cases where IFF utilizes AI in connection with certain business activities now or in the future, in cases where, whether known or unknown to IFF, IFF personnel, use AI for our business or at IFF locations, or in cases where our third-party partners, whether or not known to IFF, use AI in their business activities (which we may not be in a position to control).

The company is subject to increasing customer, consumer, shareholder and regulatory focus on sustainability, which may result in additional costs in order to meet new requirements, including adversely affecting our stock price, results of operations and access to capital.

The company's capital allocation strategy is primarily focused on debt repayment to maintain its investment grade rating. It will also prioritize capital investment in its businesses to support the strategic long-term plans.

The company announced in February 2024 that it had updated its dividend policy, reducing the expected quarterly dividend approximately 50% to enable faster deleveraging of the balance sheet and provide improved financial flexibility.

The company has evaluated and re-prioritized its capital projects and expects that capital spending in 2025 will be approximately 6% of sales, indicating a disciplined approach to investments.

The Company continued to achieve notable recognitions in 2024. For example, we qualified as a constituent of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, North America, for the fifth consecutive year, a best-in-class benchmark for investors who recognize that sustainable business practices are critical to generating long-term shareholder value.

IFF continues to support transparency and accountability through our submission to CDP Climate Change, Water Security and Forests. IFF continues to be listed in the FTSE4Good Index series as well as being named as one of America's Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek.

The company is subject to increasing customer, consumer, shareholder and regulatory focus on sustainability, which may result in additional costs in order to meet new requirements, including adversely affecting our stock price, results of operations and access to capital.

Changes in the global, regional or local economic conditions have, and may in the near future, adversely impact demand for consumer products at a regional or global level. Such parameters include, but are not limited to, increased inflation, unemployment and underemployment, salaries and wage rates stagnation, low growth rates, and impacts of supply disruptions, climate events, or geopolitical developments.

Increased regulatory scrutiny or uncertainty towards artificial or other ingredients and certain chemical substances in the U.S. or other jurisdictions, may result in significant costs due to, among other things, delays in developing, manufacturing or marketing of new or existing products, potential required changes in business practices, higher compliance costs, or capital expenditures.

We are subject to increasing customer, consumer, shareholder and regulatory focus on sustainability, which may result in additional costs in order to meet new requirements, including adversely affecting our stock price, results of operations and access to capital.