Improved nutrition profits help Lonza to ‘outstanding’ Q1
The Swiss-based reported a record quarter in terms of sales and earnings – resulting in particular from strong performances in its Pharma & Biotech business and ‘continued robust growth’ in its Speciality Ingredients segment.
Lonza said consumer care sections saw a positive start to the year on the back of an increased focus on consumer health and nutrition, with ‘continued momentum’ in vitamin B3 solutions further accelerating performance.
The recent acquisition of InterHealth, completed in September 2016, has already had the expected positive impact by complementing offerings in the sector, said Lonza.
Richard Ridinger, CEO, said major drivers of success have been seen along the healthcare continuum:
"We are using this strong momentum to make the necessary investments into future-oriented projects that will continue to bring us closer to the goal of becoming a leading supplier within the healthcare continuum and our various specialty ingredients markets,” he said – noting that the expected close of the Capsugel acquisition in Q2 “will help us to get there faster.”
The company said its strong first-quarter results will pave the way for double-digit organic sales growth for the first half of the year. It also upgraded full-year expectations from mid-single digit growth to high-single digit growth with a core EBITDA above CHF 1 billion.
