HOERSHOLM, Denmark— Chr. Hansen released its financials for the year 2008/09, reporting revenue increased by 10 percent in local currencies to €511 million, and earnings (EBITDA) reached 30.3 percent. Sales growth was particularly strong in the Health & Nutrition Division, with sales of probiotics to the food, supplement and agriculture industries up almost 27 percent; sales in the company’s largest business area, cultures and enzymes for the food industry, grew 9.4 percent, while sales of natural colors were up 7.9 percent.
“We are extremely satisfied that during challenging times we are able to not only grow our revenue and gain market shares but also to increase our earnings—and not least our ability to generate liquidity,” said Lars Frederiksen, CEO. “It is especially satisfactory that our sales growth covers both products and markets. We have created a strong and growth driven company based on a solid bioscience platform.”
The company launched a number of new products in 2008/09, with new cultures for yogurt/cheese production and probiotics for dietary supplements driving growth. Frederiksen added Chr. Hansen spends close to 6 percent of its revenue on R&D. “As we primarily work with customer driven innovation we get our money’s worth of many new products,” he said. “At the same time we have implemented a range of LEAN projects in our innovation departments in 2009, which have further increased efficiency.”
Frederiksen said the company expects to see further growth in the coming year as the global economy stabilizes, concluding, “Primary growth drivers will be increased use of industrial food cultures, a strong demand for probiotics and continued sales growth of natural colors combined with new opportunities on emerging markets. We look forward to yet another exciting and challenging year for Chr. Hansen.”