Press release -
Strong performance keeps Chr. Hansen on track
Chr. Hansen saw strong organic revenue growth of 11% in the first half of 2014/15: Cultures & Enzymes Division (8% organic growth), Health & Nutrition Division (24%) and Natural Colors Division (8%). EBIT before special items increased by 9% to EUR 96 million.
During the first half of 2014/15, Chr. Hansen was positively impacted by the strengthening USD, while the negative impact from inflation, especially in Russia and Ukraine, was offset by using EUR-based pricing.
| EUR million | Q22014/15 | Q22013/14 | Growth | 1H2014/15 | 1H2013/14 | Growth |
| Revenue | 208.8 | 181.5 | 15% | 396.9 | 352.8 | 13% |
| EBIT b.s.i. | 52.5 | 45.0 | 17% | 96.0 | 88.1 | 9% |
| Profit for the period | 35.5 | 27.1 | 31% | 65.3 | 56.2 | 16% |
| Free cash flow* | 41.6 | 35.7 | 17% | 11.2 | 5.2 | 115% |
| Organic growth | 12% | 10% | 11% | 6% | ||
| Gross margin | 50.4% | 52.4% | 50.8% | 52.4% | ||
| EBIT margin b.s.i. | 25.2% | 24.8% | 24.2% | 25.0% | ||
| ROIC excl. goodwill | 32.6% | 30.4% | 30.6% | 29.8% |
* Before acquisitions, divestments and special items.
“I’m pleased with our performance in the first half of 2014/15 with strong growth in both microbial-based divisions. It’s also promising to see the higher growth in the Natural Colors Division during Q2. The Nature’s No. 1 strategy continues to guide the direction for the company, and we've seen good progress within our strategic initiatives,” says CEO Cees de Jong.
“We continue to invest in innovation and capacity to drive the future growth of the company. Our free cash flow generation remains strong and, consequently, it is our intention to pay out an interim dividend totaling EUR 115 million in connection with the release of our interim report for Q3 2014/15.”
“We reiterate our expectations for 2014/15 of organic revenue growth of 7-9% and an EBIT margin before special items above 26.5%.”
Outlook for 2014/15
The outlook for the Chr. Hansen Group for 2014/15 is unchanged compared to the announcements of 22 October 2014 and 21 January 2015, whereas the outlook for the divisions has been further specified.
Organic revenue growth: 7-9%
Research & development expenditures incurred (% of revenue): 7-8%
EBIT margin before special items: Above 26.5%
Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items: Above EUR 130 million
Related links
Topics
Categories
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 2013/14 financial year was EUR 756 million. The company holds a leading market position in all its divisions: Cultures & Enzymes, Health & Nutrition and Natural Colors. It has more than 2,500 dedicated employees in over 30 countries and main production facilities in Denmark, France, USA and Germany. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen.
