Nutreco reports a strong year - on track towards 'Ambition 2016'
* Revenue of €5,229.1 million; an increase of 10.8% compared to 2011, of which
1.8% is organic volume growth
* Full year EBITA continuing operations before exceptional items increased by
13.2% to €262.1 million
* Basic earnings per share from continuing operations of €4.53, an increase of
26.2%
* Dividend proposal of €2.05, an increase of €0.25 (+13.9%). Pay-out ratio 45%
* Annual General Meeting of shareholders of 28 March 2013 to approve a 1:2
share split
* Progress on globally branded specialty products in Animal Nutrition and
innovative fish feed solutions
* Completion of new plants in Brazil and Russia and acquisitions in Brazil and
Ecuador are strengthening the Nutreco presence in growth geographies
* Significant progress in first year of executing 'Ambition 2016' roadmap. On
track to achieve EBITA target of €400 million in 2016
Knut Nesse, CEO Nutreco: "2012 was a record year for Nutreco. In challenging
economic times, we have continued to support our customers through innovative
and sustainable feed solutions that contribute to their productivity and
profitability. I'm pleased that we realised the strongest operational results in
our growth segments Fish Feed and Premix & Feed Specialties.
We made significant progress in the first year of our strategy 'Ambition 2016 -
driving sustainable growth.' In Animal Nutrition, this included the
strengthening of our presence in Brazil, a new production plant in Russia, the
establishment of two Application and Solution Centres and a clear focus on
global branded products in feed additives, young animal feed and animal health.
In Fish Feed, we reached agreement to acquire 75% of the leading shrimp and
tilapia feed producer in Ecuador, which takes us into a global top-3 position in
shrimp feed. This acquisition fully supports our strategy to expand our fish
feed business in growth geographies and non-salmonid species whilst maintaining
our global leading position in salmon feed. Innovation remains central to our
strategy and we have gradually increased our annual R&D budget to €25 million to
support the growing need for more sustainable high added value nutritional
solutions.
Our Ambition 2016 provides a clear roadmap for achieving our objectives. In
order to have adequate financing to execute Ambition 2016, Nutreco issued a
US$250 million private placement in July, and in September we successfully
amended our €500 million revolving credit facility with extended maturity from
2014 to 2017 and improved conditions. The progress we made in 2012 and our
strategic roadmap for the coming years leave us well placed to achieve our EBITA
target of €400 million in 2016."
Key figures
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|(€ x million) 2012 2011       D%|
| |
|Revenue 5,229.1 4,721.1 10.8|
| |
|EBITDA before exceptional items from continuing 320.2 285.5 12.1|
|operations |
| |
|Â Â Â Â |
| |
|EBITA Â Â Â |
| |
|Animal Nutrition 149.1 142.4 4.7|
| |
|Fish Feed 142.0 118.7 19.6|
| |
|Corporate -29.0 -29.5 -1.7|
| |
|EBITA before exceptional items from continuing 262.1 231.6 13.2|
|operations |
| |
|Â Â Â Â |
| |
|Result after tax from continuing operations 158.3 126.1 25.5|
| |
|Result after tax from discontinued operations 19.3 5.1 Â |
| |
|Total result for the period 177.6 131.2 35.4|
| |
|Â Â Â Â |
| |
|Basic earnings per share from continuing operations 4.53 3.59 26.2|
|(€) |
| |
|Dividend per ordinary share (€) 2.05 1.80 13.9|
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Overview
EBITA before exceptional items from continuing operations of €262.1 million
represent a 13.2% increase over 2011. The strongest operational results were
realised in the growth segments Fish Feed and Premix & Feed Specialties. Growth
in Fish Feed was achieved in both salmonid and non-salmonid species, with
exceptional growth in salmon feed and significantly higher volumes from China.
In Premix & Feed Specialties, operating margins in the last two quarters reached
the guidance of 7% due to good performances in growth geographies such as China
and Indonesia, and in young animal feed and feed additives.
Global growth
Nutreco continued to focus on growth geographies in 2012, with significant
investments in Latin America, Russia and China, where demand is strong for feed
specialties that require high levels of knowledge and technology. In Brazil, the
world's third largest animal nutrition market, Nutreco increased its ownership
stake in Nutreco Fri-Ribe to 97%, the Premix & Feed Specialties supplier, and
acquired farm mineral company Bellman. In Russia, a top ten global feed market,
Nutreco completed a new production facility in Voronezh, where it will produce
young animal feed, concentrates and premixes for ruminants, pigs and poultry,
ending its reliance on imports from Western Europe for that market. In October,
Nutreco reached an agreement to acquire 75% of Gisis in Ecuador, the local
market leader in fish feed production for shrimp and tilapia, with strong
positions in Honduras and Peru. Nutreco also continued to strengthen its market
position in China since acquiring the Shihai fish and shrimp feed company in
late 2011. Nutreco started to leverage its R&D expertise in salmonid species by
applying the MicroBalance(TM) concept to non-salmonid species.
Innovation and sustainability
Research is central to the Nutreco strategy, and important steps were taken in
2012 to strengthen capabilities and to implement the science strategy, with a
number of new PhDs joining the research teams. Nutreco opened an upgraded Swine
Research Centre (in the Netherlands, which will be equipped to investigate the
relationship between nutrition and production efficiency, reproduction, and
health. Nutreco also launched a new shrimp feed research unit in China and
extended the capabilities of rapid near-infrared reflectance (NIR) analysis to
guarantee more consistent and higher quality shrimp feed.
With the new Application and Solution Centres (ASCs) up and running in the
Netherlands and Canada, Nutreco is now better positioned to improve product
performance in line with market needs to share its knowledge and networks more
effectively and embed a consistent division-wide approach to the marketing of
Animal Nutrition products. In Premix & Feed Specialties, these efforts will
result in a clear focus on global products in feed additives, young animal feed
and animal health.
In Fish Feed, Nutreco is applying its knowledge to further broaden its focus
beyond salmon, and benefit from opportunities in areas such as shrimp feed and
feed for high value white fish in Asia. MicroBalance, the highly innovative and
sustainable feed concept, was successfully applied to other fish species in
2012, including turbot and yellowtail. Looking ahead, researchers are working to
increase its benefits by applying the concept to shrimp feed.
Agenda 2013
Nutreco will continue to execute the strategic roadmap towards 2016:
* Develop higher added value portfolio of nutritional solutions
* Focus on Premix & Feed Specialties and Fish Feed
* Continue drive for operational excellence in mature markets
* Grow in geographies Latin America, Russia, Asia and Africa
Due to seasonality of the business, the majority of Nutreco's result is
generated in the second half of the year. Nutreco will provide its first quarter
trading update on 18 April 2013.
Calendar 2013:
28 March: Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
18 April:Â Trading update first quarter
18-20 June: Agri Vision, Noordwijk, the Netherlands
25 July: Publication of half-year results
17 October: Trading update third quarter
Ambition 2016
Nutreco's 'Ambition 2016 - driving sustainable growth' is to grow and improve
profitability by providing innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions for
its customers and is expected to result in an EBITA of €400 million by 2016.
This will be realised by focusing on a higher added value portfolio of
nutritional solutions such as Premix & Feed Specialties and Fish Feed, and by
expanding into the growth geographies of Latin America, Russia, China and
Southeast Asia, which will see the largest increases in both production and
consumption of animal protein food products.
End of press release
Nutreco
Nutreco is a global leader in animal nutrition and fish feed. Our advanced feed
solutions are at the origin of food for millions of consumers worldwide.
Quality, innovation and sustainability are guiding principles, embedded in the
Nutreco culture from research and raw material procurement to products and
services for agriculture and aquaculture. Experience across 100 years brings
Nutreco a rich heritage of knowledge and experience for building its future.
Nutreco employs approximately 10,000 people in over 30 countries, with sales in
more than 80 countries. Nutreco is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in
Amsterdam and recorded annual revenue of €5.2 billion in 2012.
www.nutreco.com
For more information:
Jurgen Pullens, Director Investor Relations
Telephone: +31 (0)33 422 6134
Mobile:Â Â Â Â Â +31 (0) 651599483
E-mail:Â Â Â Â Â Â jurgen.pullens@nutreco.com
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are statements that are not based on historical fact, including
statements about our beliefs and expectations. Any statement in this
announcement that expresses or implies our intentions, beliefs, expectations or
predictions (and the assumptions underlying them) is a forward-looking
statement. Such statements are based on plans, estimates and projections as
currently available to the management of Nutreco. Forward-looking statements
therefore speak only as of the date they are made and we assume no obligation to
publicly update any of them in the light of new information or future events.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of
significant factors could therefore cause actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement.
Such factors include but are not limited to conditions on the markets in Europe,
the United States and elsewhere from which we derive a substantial portion of
our revenue, potential defaults on the part of borrowers or trading
counterparties, the implementation of our restructuring programme including the
envisaged reduction in headcount and the reliability of our risk management
policies, procedures and methods. For more information on these and other
factors, please refer to our annual report. The forward-looking statements
contained in this announcement are made as of the date hereof and the companies
assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this
announcement.
The full press release is attached in the pdf below
Nutreco full year results 2012:
http://hugin.info/133565/R/1676159/546187.pdf
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Source: Nutreco via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1676159]