Chr. Hansen delivers solid half-year result of 9% organic growth and maintains overall outlook for the full year.The growth comes from all business areas: Food Cultures & Enzymes 10%, Health & Nutrition 11% and Natural Colors 5%
Solid organic revenue growth of 9% in the first half of 2018/19: Food Cultures & Enzymes 10%, Health & Nutrition 11% and Natural Colors 5%. EBIT before special items increased by 10% to EUR 150 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin before special items of 27.0% up 0.8%-point compared to last year. In Q2, organic growth was 8%, and EBIT before special items increased by 11%. The overall outlook for 2018/19 remains unchanged.
CEO Mauricio Graber says: “We continued the solid momentum, with Food Cultures & Enzymes delivering strong organic growth with an increasing contribution from volume in Q2, which was in line with our expectations. Towards the end of Q2, we launched CHY-MAX® Supreme, a truly innovative enzyme which raises the bar for what cheesemakers can expect from coagulants. Organic growth in Health & Nutrition was solid and with a more balanced growth contribution between Human Health and Animal Health compared to what we saw in Q1, although livestock farming economics in North America remain challenging. Yesterday, we announced a joint-venture with Lonza AG, which marks a quantum leap for Chr. Hansen’s Human Microbiome lighthouse and which will create a global pioneer and partner of choice for production of live biotherapeutic products. In Natural Colors we secured important conversions in North America, but this was to some extent offset by weaker demand from Latin America in particular."
"Our EBIT margin before special items in the first half of the year increased by 0.8%-point and was driven by improved margins in all business areas. In FC&E, we achieved a gross margin benefit of more than 1%-point from the ramp up of the new capacity in our facility in Copenhagen, which more than offsets the increasing investments we are making in the business. We continue to pursue strong and profitable organic growth while also investing significantly for the future.
"The progress in the first half year makes us confident about our overall outlook, which is maintained and in line with our long-term financial ambition.”
OUTLOOK FOR 2018/19
The overall outlook for 2018/19 is unchanged compared to the announcement of October 15, 2018.
April 3, 2019 January 17, 2019
Organic revenue growth 9-11% 9-11%
EBIT margin before special items around 29.5% around 29.5%
Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items around last year around last year
The guidance for EBIT margin before special items and for free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items assumes constant currencies from the time of this announcement and for the remainder of the financial year.
Additional information
Regrettably, Christoffer Lorenzen, member of the Executive Board and EVP of Food Cultures &Enzymes, has decided to pursue a career outside of Chr. Hansen as CEO of Karo Pharma (HQ in Stockholm, Sweden). Christoffer will leave his position at Chr. Hansen by the end of June 2019.
Jacob Vishof Paulsen, currently EVP of the EMEA and North American regions, will assume the responsibility for Food Cultures & Enzymes, reporting to CEO Mauricio Graber. During the next few months Christoffer and Jacob will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities.
Jacob Vishof Paulsen joined Chr. Hansen in October 2006 as Sales & Business Development Director in Global Sales. He was later appointed Area Country Manager for Central East Europe and spent one year at the Chr. Hansen office in Parma, Italy. In April 2011 he took up the position as Regional VP for Europe. In 2013 he was appointed Group VP and Head of EMEA with report to the CEO. In 2016 Jacob was appointed EVP of the EMEA & North American regions.
Following the change, the Executive Board will consist of: CEO Mauricio Graber, CFO Søren Westh Lonning and CSO Thomas Schäfer. The Executive Board is appointed by the Board of Directors and is responsible for the day-to-day management within the guidelines and directions given by the Board of Directors.
Chr. Hansen is a leading, global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. We develop and produce cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors for a rich variety of foods, confectionery, beverages, dietary supplements and even animal feed and plant protection. Our product innovation is based on more than 30,000 microbial strains – we like to refer to them as ‘good bacteria’. Our solutions enable food manufacturers to produce more with less – while also reducing the use of chemicals and other synthetic additives – which make our products highly relevant in today’s world. We have been delivering value to our partners – and, ultimately, end consumers worldwide – for over 140 years. We are proud that more than one billion people consume products containing our natural ingredients every day. Revenue in the 2017/18 financial year was EUR 1,097 million. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen.
