Chr. Hansen Holding — Earnings Release 2017

Jan 11, 2017

Hoersholm, 2017-01-11 07:59 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Strong organic revenue growth of 11% in Q1 2016/17: Food Cultures & Enzymes
(10%), Health & Nutrition (8%) and Natural Colors (13%). EBIT before special
items increased by 21% to EUR 66 million.

EUR million Q1 Q1 Growth
2016/17 2015/16

                                                   ---------

Revenue 241.7 214.4 13%
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EBIT before special items 65.5 54.0 21%
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Profit for the period 47.0 38.9 21%
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Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and (19.1) (16.6) (15)%
special items
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                                                   ---------

Organic growth, % 11% 14%
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Gross margin, % 53.4% 52.3%
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EBIT margin before special items, % 27.1% 25.2%
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ROIC excl. goodwill, % 34.3% 33.1%
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“The results in Q1 gave us a good start to the year, and we maintain our
guidance for the full year. Both Food Cultures & Enzymes and Natural Colors
delivered strong organic growth and improved profitability. The organic growth
in Health & Nutrition was still below our long-term ambitions, however, better
than expected for the quarter, mainly due to timing of orders. The EBIT margin
for the business area was down, partly due to an unfavorable product mix,” says
CEO Cees de Jong.

“We made good progress on our focus areas for 2016/17. Our bioprotective
cultures continue to deliver strong growth. In Q1, growth was approximately
25%, and the segment now accounts for approximately 5% of the revenue in Food
Cultures & Enzymes. In November, we concluded the acquisition of LGG®, and we
have initiated integrating the business into Chr. Hansen. The integration of
NPC is being concluded and we are starting to reap the synergies from the
acquisition. Plant health supported the growth in Health & Nutrition with sales
of both Nemix® C and VGR™, and we are making progress in our work to introduce
new products in the coming years. Natural Colors showed good progress in Q1.”

OUTLOOK FOR 2016/17

The outlook for 2016/17 is unchanged compared to the announcement of 26 October
2016.

Organic revenue growth: 8-10% (previously 8-10%)

EBIT margin before special items: slightly increasing (previously slightly
increasing)

Free cash flow before acquisitions, divestments and special items:

around EUR 175 million (previously around EUR 175 million)

This unaudited interim report has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 and
additional Danish regulations. The interim report has been prepared in
accordance with the accounting policies set out in the Annual Report for
2015/16.

For further information, please contact:

Cees de Jong, CEO

Tel: +45 4574 7474

Søren Westh Lonning, CFO

Tel: +45 4574 7474

Anders Mohr Christensen, Senior Director, Investor Relations
Tel: +45 4574 7618

Forward-looking statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, as various factors, many of which are
beyond the control of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S, may cause actual developments
and results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in this
announcement.

About Chr. Hansen

Chr. Hansen is a global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient
solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural
industries. The products include cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural
colors, and all solutions are based on strong research and development
competencies coupled with significant technology investments. Revenue in the
2015/16 financial year was EUR 949 million. The company has more than 2,700
dedicated employees in 30 countries and main production facilities in Denmark,
France, USA and Germany. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on
Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S. For further information, please visit
www.chr-hansen.com.