Rising expectations: Health and nutrition drive ‘strong’ Q3 for Chr Hansen
CEO Cees de Jong said a ‘better than expected’ performance in both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Health & Nutrition led to a ‘strong’ third quarter and nine-month result – meaning the company has narrowed organic revenue expectations from a previously suggested 8%-10% to a new estimate of 9%-10%.
“Both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors delivered further improvements in profitability, while Health & Nutrition showed a solid margin progression in Q3,” said de Jong. “The capacity expansion for dairy cultures in Copenhagen is on track, and we are preparing for the final implementation later this year.”
Chr Hansen reported year-to-date (YTD) revenue of €780 million, compared to €693 million for the same period last year. Profits were up by €28 million – hitting €156m versus €128m in 2015/16.
Driving the increased revenue was 12% organic growth for the firm’s Health & Nutrition division, while Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colours groups both reported a 9% organic growth.
Microbiome growth
de Jong added that the company has seen great growth and a strong performance in its human microbiome program – including the recent addition of 100 new strains to its development library, which could help development of new commercial probiotics for a range of metabolic, immune, and digestive health issues.
“It is exciting to see that we are making solid progress in the area of the human microbiome, where we have recently expanded our strain library with lead candidates targeting gastrointestinal, immune and metabolic health,” said the CEO.
“Adding these novel bacterial strains to our portfolio is a major milestone in developing the next-generation probiotics.”