News
Naturex reports "good start"
18 May 2016Naturex has announced its first quarter financial results. The company said the year got off to a good start, with organic growth of 6.3% (constant currency and structure) and continuing rationalisation of the product portfolio.
Naturex has announced its first quarter financial results. The company said the year got off to a good start, with organic growth of 6.3% (constant currency and structure) and continuing rationalisation of the product portfolio.
Europe and emerging markets drove growth, and Naturex reported continuing improvements in operating profitability and tight control over working capital. Revenue was €104.4 million, and recurring operating EBITDA was €15.7 million.Naturex said it has started to execute its 2016 action plan, in line with its Bright2020 strategic plan, focusing on the following three priorities:+ Simplification, by continuing to reduce the number of references, categorising the inventory and rationalising the product portfolio;+ Market access, by adopting a more structured commercial organisation, supported by reinforced regional management providing targeted responses addressing the needs of each customer that are fully aligned with the expectations of end consumers.+ Innovation, by enhancing the value of the offer in favour of products and solutions with clinically substantiated benefits within four key categories2 in order to maximise industrial capacities.The adoption of two business platforms, ‘My Natural Food’ and ‘My Natural Selfcare’, is said to reflect Naturex's commercial approach focused on the concerns of the end customer in terms of well-being, health and intuitive nutrition.The ‘My Natural Food’ business unit had revenue of €53.1 million, up 6.1%, bolstered, Naturex said, by very positive trends for less processed products based on natural ingredients, inciting food processing companies to adopt an active approach in favour of product reformulation and transparent labelling ("Clear and Clean Labels").The ‘My Natural Selfcare’ business had revenue of €37.0 million, up 17.7%. This performance, the company said, confirms Naturex's solid position with high added value products offering clinically substantiated benefits and illustrating the group's know-how in terms of traceability and quality control for raw materials within a particularly sensitive environment in the United States. Indeed, regulatory pressure in this market is tightening and consumer confidence has been undermined by recent announcements with regards to the origin and reliability of certain plant extracts contained in food supplements, Naturex notes. "Organic growth in the 2016 first quarter is on track with the priorities of our implementation plan established for 2016,” said Olivier Rigaud, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Naturex. “This performance first reflects continuing product reference simplification and rationalisation measures, and commercial initiatives adopted to generate further value from our offering and accelerate our penetration in selected markets including emerging countries.”“Over the coming months, we will face many challenges: further cyclical economic turmoil is expected within our historic nutraceutical market in North America while the three other regions where we operate are still very volatile. We must furthermore continue to streamline our operating model while maintaining our capacity for anticipation and innovation in order to ensure the sustainability of quality organic growth over the long-term. These initial encouraging results bolster our commitment to rigour and discipline that is essential for effectively spearheading and executing the priorities we have defined for the 2020 horizon."