Hoersholm, 2017-04-06 08:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Company announcement no.06/2017
YTD 2016/17 IN BRIEF
Strong organic revenue growth of 10% delivered in the first half of 2016/17: Food Cultures & Enzymes 9%, Health & Nutrition 10% and Natural Colors 11%. EBIT before special items has increased by 15% to EUR 136 million. In Q2, organic growth reached 9% and EBIT before special items increased by 10% to EUR 70 million.
| EUR million | Q2 2016/17 | Q2 2015/16 | Growth | YTD 2016/17 | YTD 2015/16 | Growth |
| Revenue | 259.4 | 228.9 | 13% | 501.1 | 443.3 | 13% |
| EBIT before special items | 70.1 | 63.9 | 10% | 135.6 | 117.9 | 15% |
| Profit for the period | 50.9 | 37.4 | 36% | 97.9 | 76.3 | 28% |
| Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items | 48.8 | 32.5 | 51% | 29.8 | 15.9 | 88% |
| Organic growth, % | 9% | 12% | 10% | 13% | ||
| Gross margin, % | 53.7% | 52.7% | 53.5% | 52.5% | ||
| EBIT margin before special items, % | 27.0% | 27.9% | 27.1% | 26.6% | ||
| ROIC excl. goodwill, % | 34.1% | 36.0% | 35.2% | 34.3% |
“With a solid performance in the first half of 2016/17, we are well positioned to deliver on our ambitions for the year. Both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors delivered strong organic growth and improved profitability. In Food Cultures & Enzymes, the improvement in profitability was despite the financial impact from a management change in Q2. With 13% organic growth in Q2, Health & Nutrition is now delivering growth in line with our long-term ambitions for this business area. However, the EBIT margin in Health & Nutrition is still below the level of last year, partly due to continued investments in R&D,” says CEO Cees de Jong.
“We are pleased with the progress of our long term growth initiatives and especially with the continued strong growth and momentum in bioprotection, the further penetration and development of plant health solutions and technological progress in the human microbiome. NPC has now been fully integrated, and the integration of LGG ® is on plan. Finally, it is encouraging to see the skilled and timely execution of the capacity expansion for dairy cultures in Copenhagen.”
OUTLOOK FOR 2016/17
The outlook for 2016/17 is unchanged compared to the announcement of 11 January 2017.
Organic revenue growth: 8-10% (previously 8-10%)
EBIT margin before special items: slightly increasing (previously slightly increasing)
Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items: around EUR 175 million (previously around EUR 175 million)
For further information, please contact:
Anders Mohr Christensen, Senior Director, Investor Relations Tel: +45 4574 7618
Camilla Lercke, Head of Media Relation
Tlf: +45 5339 2384
Forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, as various factors, many of which are beyond the control of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, may cause actual developments and results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in this announcement.
About Chr. Hansen
Chr. Hansen is a global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The products include cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors, and all solutions are based on strong research and development competencies coupled with significant technology investments. Revenue in the 2015/16 financial year was EUR 949 million. The company has more than 2,700 dedicated employees in 30 countries and main production facilities in Denmark, France, USA and Germany. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S. For further information, please visit www.chr-hansen.com .
