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Chr. Hansen grows strongly, touts microbes

Chr. Hansen has announced that it saw strong organic revenue growth of 11% in the first half of 2014/15: Cultures & Enzymes Division (8% organic growth), Health & Nutrition Division (24%) and Natural Colors Division (8%). EBIT before special items increased by 9% to €96 million. During the first half of 2014/15, Chr. Hansen was […]

Chr. Hansen has announced that it saw strong organic revenue growth of 11% in the first half of 2014/15: Cultures & Enzymes Division (8% organic growth), Health & Nutrition Division (24%) and Natural Colors Division (8%). EBIT before special items increased by 9% to €96 million.

During the first half of 2014/15, Chr. Hansen was positively impacted by the strengthening USD, while the negative impact from inflation, especially in Russia and Ukraine, was offset by using EUR-based pricing.

“I’m pleased with our performance in the first half of 2014/15 with strong growth in both microbial-based divisions,” said de Jong. “It’s also promising to see the higher growth in the Natural Colors Division during Q2. The Nature’s No. 1 strategy continues to guide the direction for the company, and we’ve seen good progress within our strategic initiatives.”

“We continue to invest in innovation and capacity to drive the future growth of the company. Our free cash flow generation remains strong and, consequently, it is our intention to pay out an interim dividend totalling €115 million in connection with the release of our interim report for Q3 2014/15.”

“We reiterate our expectations for 2014/15 of organic revenue growth of 7-9% and an EBIT margin before special items above 26.5%.”

The company says it has taken an important step in its strategic venture into new generations of probiotic products and therapeutic microbes. Through the creation of a new research and development consortium and the securing of strain access and commercialisation rights, the company says it will strengthen its capabilities and gain access to renowned bio-banks of human gut bacteria.

“Chr. Hansen has been a world leader in fermentation technology for 140 years and we have one of the industry’s strongest technological platforms for the production of microbes,” said Cees de Jong, CEO, Chr. Hansen. “We are now using this platform to expand into new generations of microbial solutions for human health, and with these agreements in place, we can strengthen our strategic research efforts and accelerate product development.”

In the consortium, led and financed by Chr. Hansen, the company partners with three academic institutions, all among the leaders in the field of anaerobic bacteria and host-microbe interactions: The University of Aberdeen (UK), the University of Groningen (NL) and the University of Wageningen (NL). The consortium will operate a research program, aimed at exploiting the human microbiome and developing bacterial products that can improve human health, for example in the prevention and treatment of gastro-intestinal and metabolic diseases.

“This partnership will accelerate our development of a new growth platform for the company and help us strengthen key competences within the production of this special type of bacteria,” said Johan van Hylckama Vlieg, Senior Director of Chr. Hansen’s Microbiome Innovation.

“The bio-banks of anaerobic bacteria that we will advance in this project, already cover 500 strains, some ranking among the best documented in the field,” said one of the lead investigators, Professor Dr. Harry Flint, University of Aberdeen. “These strains will be subjected to a deep analysis of their health functional activities and their potential for production and formulation.”