(RTTNews) -  Consumer products maker International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (IFF: News ) reported Tuesday a profit for the fourth quarter that edged down from last year despite quarterly sales growth and margin expansion, as the year-ago quarter had a significant tax benefit.

Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter grew 26%, and topped analysts' expectations by a penny.

The company, which specializes in developing perfumes as well as flavors for food and beverages, said it expects to return to local currency sales growth and improve overall profitability in fiscal 2010.

In a statement, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Kevin Berryman said, "Given the economic challenges we faced over the course of the year, we are very pleased with how we finished 2009. The combination of focused strategies, disciplined cost control, and prudent working capital management enabled us to build sales, earnings and cash flow momentum in the second half of the year."

Fourth-Quarter Results

The New York-based company reported net income of $47.45 million or $0.59 per share for the fourth quarter, lower than $48.96 million or $0.62 per share in the prior-year quarter.

The results for the latest quarter include restructuring charges of $2.89 million or $0.04 per share related to ongoing restructuring efforts in Europe, while the year-ago quarter included $8.04 million or $0.10 per share of restructuring charges, and $17.07 million or $0.22 per share of benefit from tax settlements.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter rose to $50.34 million or $0.63 per share from $39.94 million or $0.50 per share in the year-ago quarter. On average, six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.62 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter grew 9% to $585.63 million from $539.10 million in the same quarter last year, and topped four Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $574.78 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, revenue rose more than 2% from last year.

Segmental Details

Flavors net sales for the fourth quarter grew to $270.18 million from $250.71 million in the year-ago quarter. Segment operating profit rose to $45.91 million from $32.48 million last year, reflecting continued margin improvement initiatives and disciplined cost management. Adjusted operating profit margin improved 340 basis points to 17.4% from last year.

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