Glanbia revenues boosted by performance nutrition, Dairy Ireland sale

21 Feb 2018 --- Global nutrition group, Glanbia, has reported that its revenue from continuing operations rose by over 9 percent for the year for the financial year ended 30 December 2017. Revenues for the year rose to €2.387 billion (US$2.944bn) from €2.231 billion (US$2.751bn) in 2016, while the company also reported adjusted earnings per share growth of 10.2 percent to 87.11 cents. That was in line with guidance of 7-10 percent growth and marked Glanbia's eighth year of double-digit earnings growth.

Glanbia's profit after tax came in at €329.4 million (US$406m), although there was a once-off gain there from the disposal of a 60 percent share in Dairy Ireland. The company said its board had recommended a final dividend of 16.09 cent per share, which brings the total dividend for the year to 22 cents per share, a 65 percent increase on the previous year.

Siobhán Talbot, Managing Director at Glanbia said that growth for the company last year was broad-based. Its divisions – Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN), Glanbia Nutritionals (GN) and its joint ventures – all saw good volume growth across all segments.

“The outlook for 2018 is positive and I expect Glanbia will deliver between 5 percent to 8 percent growth in Pro-forma adjusted earnings per share on a constant currency basis,” Talbot says.

She also noted that said the company's focus in 2018 would be on volume-driven revenue growth.

“We expect growth to be delivered in the second half of 2018, as comparative dairy dynamics and planned investments will adversely affect performance in the first half of 2018,” she adds.

The strategic evolution of the group portfolio continued in 2017 with the acquisition of two highly complementary businesses to the GPN portfolio, Amazing Grass and Body & Fit, as well as the disposal of 60 percent of Dairy Ireland and the subsequent creation of the Glanbia Ireland JV.

These initiatives demonstrate the ambition of the group to build on its existing strengths, drive future sustainable growth and deliver on our vision to be one of the world’s top performing nutrition companies. The company says that the focus in 2018 will be on volume-driven revenue growth across the wholly owned growth platforms of GPN and GN.

“The outlook for 2018 is positive and I expect Glanbia will deliver between 5 percent to 8 percent growth in pro-forma adjusted Earnings Per Share on a constant currency basis. We expect growth to be delivered in the second half of 2018 as comparative dairy dynamics and planned investments will adversely affect performance in the first half of 2018,” explains Talbot.

“Finally, recognizing the strength of the Group’s balance sheet and growth prospects, Glanbia has materially increased its 2017 dividend and revised its ongoing target dividend payout ratio to between 25 percent and 35 percent of annual adjusted Earnings Per Share,” she notes.

In the results statement, the company said that revenues at the Glanbia Performance Nutrition division rose by 11.3 percent to €1.121 billion (US$1.381bn).

It also said its project to create a new joint venture to build a large-scale cheese and whey plant in Michigan in the US remains on track with commissioning expected in 2020.

Meanwhile, revenues at its Glanbia Nutritionals division were up 3.4 percent to €1.266 billion (US$1.560bn) while EBITA rose by 2 percent to €113.5 million (US$139.9m).