Chr. Hansen has seen “strong” organic revenue growth of 10% in the first half of 2016/17. With this solid performance in the first half year, the company says it is well positioned to deliver on its ambitions for the year.

“With a solid performance in the first half of 2016/17, we are well positioned to deliver on our ambitions for the year,” said CEO Cees de Jong. “Both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors delivered strong organic growth and improved profitability. In Food Cultures & Enzymes, the improvement in profitability was despite the financial impact from a management change in Q2. With 13% organic growth in Q2, Health & Nutrition is now delivering growth in line with our long-term ambitions for this business area. However, the EBIT margin in Health & Nutrition is still below the level of last year, partly due to continued investments in R&D.”

“We are pleased with the progress of our long term growth initiatives and especially with the continued strong growth and momentum in bioprotection, the further penetration and development of plant health solutions and technological progress in the human microbiome. NPC has now been fully integrated, and the integration of LGG is on plan. Finally, it is encouraging to see the skilled and timely execution of the capacity expansion for dairy cultures in Copenhagen.”

For the first half of the year, Chr. Hansen reported revenue of €501 million, compared to €443 million in 2015/16, corresponding to organic growth of 10%. Food Cultures & Enzymes saw 9% organic growth; Health & Nutrition 10% organic growth; and Natural Colors 11% organic growth.

EBIT before special items was €136 million, compared to €118 million in 2015/16. The EBIT margin before special items was 27.1%, compared to 26.6% in 2015/16. Profit for the period was €98 million, compared to €76 million in 2015/16.

In second quarter, the company reported revenue of €259 million, compared to €229 million in 2015/16, corresponding to organic growth of 9%. Food Cultures & Enzymes saw 8% organic growth; Health & Nutrition 13% organic growth; and Natural Colors 9% organic growth.

EBIT before special items was €70 million, compared to €64 million in 2015/16. The EBIT margin before special items was 27.0%, compared to 27.9% in 2015/16. Profit for the period was €51 million, compared to €37 million in 2015/16.