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Place: Copenhagen
Stock Exchange
The
Group's principal activities are the production and supply of ingredients,
feed ingredients, sweeteners and sugar. The Group operates in two segments:
Ingredients and Sugar. The Ingredients segment produces and supplies emulsifiers,
stabilisers, flavourings, antioxidants, enzymes and technical enzymes,
probiotic cultures such as acidophilus, bifidobacteria and casei and flavours
for coffee and snack products. The sugar segment produces and sells white
and brown sugar, syrup, molasses and seeds for sugar beets, fodder beets,
rape, sunflowers and peas. During the year, the Group acquired Danisco
(Zhangjiagang) Textural Ingredients Company Ltd. The Group has operations
in Denmark, Other Nordic countries, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North
America, Latin America and Asia Pacific.
http://www.danisco.com
Danisco
Announcement of Results for Q1 2009/10
Announcement
of Results for Q1 2009/10 (1 May 2009 – 31 July 2009)
Notice
no. 12/2009
Earnings
upgrade following strong first quarter
In
Q1 2009/10, Danisco posted revenue of DKK 3.5 billion, up 7% Y/Y (2% organic
growth). Cultures and Genencor were the drivers of organic growth. Group
EBIT* increased by 27% Y/Y, resulting in a significant margin enhancement
compared to Q1 last year. Enablers and Genencor both contributed well to
higher margins. We lift our full-year estimates for EBIT and profit for
the Group.
CEO
Tom Knutzen comments: ‘We are encouraged by the positive start to the year,
not least in view of the still challenging and volatile market environment.
Internal cost containment and positive momentum for several of our products
are starting to bear fruit, and we are satisfied that we are able to lift
our outlook for the full year. Meanwhile, we maintain our focus on optimising
the business to meet our financial targets.’
Highlights
Group
organic growth of 2% was made up of stability in Enablers, 11% growth in
Cultures, 6% growth in Genencor and weakness in Sweeteners.
Enablers
saw good demand for both Emulsifiers and Gums & Systems. Price momentum
was mixed.
The
strong organic growth in Cultures was broad-based. Genencor succeeded in
stabilising its Fabric & Household Care revenue and grew organically
in all other business segments aside from Textiles.
Sweeteners
is meeting internal cash flow targets – its key priority for the current
financial year – and temporary plant closures are progressing according
to plan. Xylitol volumes remain weak.
Group
EBIT came in at DKK 524 million against DKK 412 million last year. Excluding
Bio Chemicals Projects, EBIT came in at DKK 537 million (DKK 418 million),
reflecting a margin of 15.6% (up 2.7 percentage points Y/Y).
Bio
Chemicals Projects continued to progress well.
Profit
for the Group came in at DKK 306 million against DKK 271 million last year.
The
Board of Directors has decided to propose a removal of the 7.5% voting
restriction, as well as a change of the election period for the Board members
from two years to one year. This will be proposed at Danisco's next Annual
General Meeting on 19 August 2010.
Outlook
for 2009/10
Our
revenue outlook is unchanged at around DKK 13.5 billion since our latest
trading statement (09/2009, 24 June 2009). As a result of the strong first
quarter, we raise our EBIT estimate to slightly under DKK 1,400 million
(previously around DKK 1,300 million). We now expect profit for the Group
of slightly above DKK 700 million (previously around DKK 650 million).
For further details, including comments on goodwill in Sweeteners, please
refer to page 13 of this report.
*Henceforth
in this report, EBIT will refer to EBIT before share-based payments and
special items unless otherwise stated.
Q1
Report in English
Q1
Report in Danish
Announcement
of Results for FY 2008/09
Announcement
of Results for FY 2008/09 (1 May 2008 – 30 April 2009)
Notice
no. 09/2009
Focus
on execution
In
FY 2008/09, Danisco posted revenue of DKK 13.0 billion, up 6% Y/Y (4% organic
growth). EBIT before share-based payments and special items* came in at
DKK 1,248 million, and group profit for the period closed at DKK 72 million
(DKK 108 million after minorities).
CEO
Tom Knutzen comments: ‘This year has been marked by achievements and challenges
for Danisco. We executed the Sugar divestment in line with our commitment
to stakeholders – and for the continuing part of Danisco our strategic
priorities remain intact. We have the right platform to accommodate the
opportunities and challenges of the future through innovation, sustainability
and focus. However, we also recognise the necessity to improve our performance
through higher earnings, better utilisation of our capital employed and
reductions in our net working capital. These are all prerequisites for
meeting the demands of our stakeholders going forward and to deliver superior
value creation.’
Highlight
Full-year
group revenue up by 6% Y/Y. Full-year organic growth 4% (Food Ingredients
3%, Genencor 7%). Strong growth at the start of the year for all segments
aside from Sweeteners; the latter part of the year marred by general economic
slowdown.
Group
organic growth rates in Q4 better than we expected after Q3 across all
Food Ingredients areas except for Sweeteners – albeit market transparency
levels still low. Genencor also continuing to experience good momentum
in most major business areas.
Full-year
EBIT of DKK 1,248 million, a result of margin improvements in Enablers
and in Cultures, but declines in Genencor and Sweeteners. Q4 margins up
Y/Y for all non-Sweeteners areas – including Genencor.
Full
steam ahead for Genencor’s Bio Chemicals Projects (BCP) with DuPont and
Goodyear throughout the year – making solid advances in both.
Group
profit for the year of DKK 72 million, slightly better than we expected
after Q3.
Net
debt reduced by DKK 4.8 billion over the year (DKK 8.5 billion over the
past three years) – year-end gearing 2.5 times EBITDA.
Danisco’s
Board of Directors proposing a dividend for FY 2008/09 of DKK 7.50 per
share (unchanged Y/Y),
i.e.
a total payout of DKK 356 million.
Outlook
for 2009/10
We
recognise the currently high levels of economic and financial uncertainty.
Nevertheless, we have decided to maintain the usual level of detail in
our outlook also for FY 2009/10. We expect organic revenue growth of 3-4%,
EBIT of around DKK 1,300 million (this year DKK 1,248 million) and group
profit for the year of around DKK 650 million. For further details, please
refer to page 16 in the pdf-file.
Announcement
of Results for Q3 2008/09 (1 November 2008 – 31 January 2009)
Strategic
transition completed
In
Q3 2008/09, Danisco recorded a 4% increase in group revenue and EBIT before
share-based payments of DKK 209 million. We maintain the full-year group
outlook for 2008/09 that we published in our recent trading statement early
March.
CEO
Tom Knutzen comments: ‘On 2 March 2009, we published three important stock
exchange notices. The completion of the Sugar transaction marks an important
strategic step for Danisco and was executed at a satisfactory price. As
part of our efforts to restore profitability in Sweeteners we have announced
structural initiatives allowing us to take concrete action for the division.
And despite Danisco’s relatively defensive nature, we have felt the impact
of the current economic downturn and are suffering from lower short-term
earnings visibility. This has led to initiatives, including staff reductions,
a salary freeze for 2009 and hiring restrictions across the organisation,
as we act swiftly to defend our short-term profitability. However, this
does not alter our strategic priorities nor challenge the fundamental strength
of Danisco.’
Highlight
Sugar
divestment now completed – important step in delivering on our strategic
commitments.
Taking
action to restore the level of profitability in Sweeteners: Mothballing
China production; changing management
Q3
2008/09 revenue came in at DKK 3.1 billion, up 4% Y/Y. This reflected negative
organic growth of 2%, a 3% increase from currencies and 3% positive impact
from acquisitions. Year-to-date, we have achieved an organic growth rate
of 6%.
Global
economic downturn slows food ingredient volumes particularly in Enablers
and Sweeteners. Satisfactory growth rates in Cultures.
Genencor
continuing solid growth in bioethanol, food and feed enzymes; detergents
remain under pressure. Innovative partnership launch for textiles further
strengthening our sustainability platform.
DuPont
partnership on cellulosic ethanol making strong technological and engineering
progress.
In
Q3 2008/09, EBIT before Bio Chemicals Projects, share-based payments and
special items came in at DKK 219 million (last year DKK 336 million).
Due
to the previously announced impairment charges, asset writedowns and loss
on discontinued business, the result for the quarter was a loss of DKK
698 million.
Outlook
for 2008/09
Our
outlook is unchanged since our latest trading statement (04/2009, 2 March
2009). Thus, we expect profit for the Group to reach breakeven. For further
details, please refer to page 14 of this report.
For
the full results, download the PDF reports:
Q3
report in English
Q3
report in Danish
DANISCO
Announcement of Results for Q1 2008/09 1 May 2008– 31 July 2008 PDF
Solid
top-line momentum
In
Q1 2008/09, Danisco recorded 9% organic growth Y/Y, well ahead of our long-term
target. Genencor, Enablers and Cultures saw solid top-line momentum. In
spite of disappointing Sweeteners performance, EBIT was in line with our
expectations. We upgrade our group profit estimate on the back of an after-tax
gain of around DKK 100 million from divesting our venture company Direvo.
CEO
Tom Knutzen comments: ’Q1 has been another eventful quarter for Danisco
as we continue to implement our strategy. We have found an attractive buyer
for Sugar, we have announced another exciting collaboration in the field
of industrial biotech – namely with Goodyear – we are accelerating growth
in most of our businesses, and we have been given the go-ahead to acquire
Abitec, thus further strengthening our market leadership within food ingredients.
We feel confident we are moving in the right direction.’
Highlights
•
Satisfactory top-line performance; 9% organic growth for the Group exceeded
Danisco’s long-term targets.
•
Key organic growth contributors included Genencor (+13% Y/Y) and Enablers
(+13% Y/Y); Cultures also maintained its solid top-line momentum.
•
Group EBIT performance as we expected despite disappointing earnings in
Sweeteners.
•
Our newly announced Goodyear collaboration reinforces our biochemicals
strategy – and our joint venture with DuPont is making good progress.
•
The sale of our stake in venture company Direvo triggers a DKK 100 million
upgrade in our outlook for group profit for the period.
•
In August, Danisco’s shareholders approved the Board of Directors’ proposal
to divest Sugar to Nordzucker. The process of filing for approval with
competition authorities is in its concluding stage.
•
We will initiate a share buyback programme of DKK 1.0 billion once we have
closed the Sugar transaction, after which we will review our capital structure.
Outlook
for 2008/09
Based
on overall strong Q1 performance and the acquisition of Abitec, we lift
our revenue estimate to DKK 13.0 billion (previously DKK 12.6 billion).
We maintain our EBIT outlook for the Group, excluding Sugar for 2008/09.
Our Bio Chemicals Projects estimates are also unchanged, as are our underlying
assumptions regarding Sugar. Due to an after-tax gain of around DKK 100
million relating to Direvo, we upgrade our outlook for profit after tax
before share-based payments to DKK 1.0 billion (previously DKK 900 million).
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