Chr. Hansen's 2011/12 Revenue Jumps 10%

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S's annual revenue rose 10% to €699 million, although organic growth of 8% was hurt by three percentage points due to changed sales prices reflecting changed raw material prices for carmine.

Profit for the year 2011/12 rose to €131 million from €119 million in the year-ago period due to improved operating profit.

The company's cultures & enzymes division accounted for 60% of revenue, unchanged from last year, while the natural colors division accounted for 25% of revenue compared to 26% in 2010/11. The health & nutrition division's share of revenue was 15% compared to 14% last year.

By region, Europe represented 46% of total revenue in 2011/12 compared to 51% in 2010/11. North America was 24% of total revenue compared to 21% a year ago. South America represented 13% of total revenue compared to 12% a year earlier. The Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region represented 17% of total revenue compared to 16% a year ago.

In 2011/12, revenue in the health & nutrition division jumped 18% to €107 million with organic growth of 13%.

The company expects continued organic growth due to increased demand for healthy food products and supplements, conversion from in-house bulk starter to industrialized produced cultures and from synthetic to natural colors. Probiotic cultures used in fermented milk products are expected to remain under pressure in the EU.

Looking ahead, the company expects organic growth in the range of 7-9%. Chr. Hansen also said raw material prices for the natural color carmine have stabilized and average sales prices for carmine are expected to be below last year. Especially in the first quarter, it expects the sales price to be somewhat lower than the year-ago quarter. Excluding effect on sales prices from change in raw material prices for carmine, Chr. Hansen sees organic growth in the range of 8-10%.

On a long-term basis, total annual revenue is expected to grow organically in the range of 8-10% while the EBIT margin is expected to increase over the coming 3-5 years, assuming an unchanged business mix.

 

 

More in Home