Hoersholm, 2016-07-05 07:59 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Company Announcement No. 11 / 2016
2015/16 YTD IN BRIEF
Strong organic revenue growth of 13% in the first nine months of 2015/16: Food Cultures & Enzymes (13%), Health & Nutrition (2%) and Natural Colors (20%). EBIT before special items increased by 18% to EUR 189 million. In Q3, organic growth reached 12% and EBIT before special items increased by 11% to EUR 71 million.
| EUR million |
Q3 2015/16 |
Q3 2014/15 |
Growth |
YTD 2015/16 |
YTD 2014/15 |
Growth |
| Revenue | 249.8 | 228.1 | 10% | 693.1 | 625.0 | 11% |
| EBIT before special items | 71.0 | 63.8 | 11% | 188.9 | 159.8 | 18% |
| Profit for the period | 51.6 | 45.7 | 13% | 127.9 | 111.0 | 15% |
| Free cash flow* | 42.0 | 53.8 | -22% | 57.8 | 65.0 | -11% |
| Organic growth | 12% | 7% | 13% | 9% | ||
| Gross margin | 53.3% | 52.4% | 52.8% | 51.4% | ||
| EBIT margin b.s.i. | 28.4% | 28.0% | 27.2% | 25.6% | ||
| ROIC excl. goodwill | 36.0% | 33.8% |
* Before acquisitions, divestments and special items
“We continued to grow our business during Q3, with Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors showing strong organic revenue growth. Both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors also delivered encouraging improvements in profitability. We experienced modest growth in Health & Nutrition, as the animal health business was negatively impacted by commodity prices for milk and meat remaining at extraordinarily low levels. Despite the current pressure on the agricultural sector, the long-term growth prospects for our animal health business remain very positive,” says CEO Cees de Jong.
“During the past three months, we have made good progress with integrating NPC, launched a second product for plant health with good first sales, and, within the human microbiome area, successfully completed a clinical study showing a positive physiological effect of the bacteria tested. Based on the results achieved, we have moved to the next stage in our clinical development plan. Finally, it is very encouraging to see a strong performance by our bioprotective solutions for dairy and other food categories.”
OUTLOOK FOR 2015/16
The outlook for 2015/16 is unchanged compared to announcement on 7 April 2016.
Organic revenue growth: 10-12% (previously 10-12%)
Research & development expenditures incurred (% of revenue): around 7% (previously around 7%)
EBIT margin before special items: above 2014/15 (previously above 2014/15)
Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items: above 2014/15 (previously above 2014/15)
For further information, please contact:
Anders Mohr Christensen, Senior Director, Investor Relations
Tel: +45 4574 7618
Klara Halkjaer, Head of media relations
Tel: +45 4574 7474
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 2014/15 financial year was EUR 859 million. The company has more than 2,600 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. For further information, please visit www.chr-hansen.com.
