Chr Hansen: Continued Strong Performance for Q3

2 Jul 2014 --- Chr Hansen has reported strong growth in the third quarter and it has maintained its outlook for the year. The company recorded organic growth of 10% for the third quarter of the trading year, while revenue was up 5% on last year. EBITDA, before special items, was recorded above 26%, the company said.

“With organic growth of 10% and solid margins in Q3, Chr. Hansen continued the strong performance from Q2, and we maintain our outlook for the full year, expecting organic revenue growth of 7-9% and an EBIT margin before special items above 26%,” said CEO Cees de Jong. 

“Implementation of our Nature’s No. 1 strategy remains a key focus area. It’s encouraging to see the successful application of the new fermentation capacity for cultures in Copenhagen and the progress in our other strategic initiatives such as the strengthening of our position in emerging markets and creating fuel for growth through strong cost focus and scalability”. 

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, the company’s CFO, Klaus Pederson, said: “Emerging markets are expected to deliver the majority of the absolute market growth in key food categories in the next five to ten years and our focus is particular on securing our position in Asia, not least China.
 
“As part of our Nature’s no.1 strategy we will in the coming years invest in our Asia Pacific region- organization to secure stronger and more direct relationships with key clients.
 
“South America is also a focus area, however we have a longer history in this region with well-established customer relationships, hence prime focus on APAC.”

Pederson also explained that the continuous effort to reinforce the company’s position in emerging markets and decision on further investments into its strategic initiatives are some of the next steps, “however we are also working on driving a step change in innovation among others through optimizing our innovation processes and securing the fuel for growth, not least through securing a successful up-scaling of production in our new fermentation capacity in Copenhagen”. 
 
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 2012/13 financial year was EUR 738 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.