Amsterdam / NL. (cb) Corbion reported sales of 911.3 million EUR in 2016, a decrease of 0.8 percent. Organic sales growth was -1.2 percent. Ebitda excluding one-off items grew by 13.2 percent in 2016. In Q4 2016 sales were 226.1 million EUR, a decrease of 1.9 percent. Q4 2016 Ebitda excluding one-off items increased by 6.3 percent. The company proposes to distribute a regular dividend of 0.56 EUR per share, an additional cash dividend of 0.44 EUR per share, and a new share buyback of 25 million EUR.
«In 2016 we continued to make good progress in executing our strategy and we are well on track to deliver on our 2015-2018 targets. In the past year we have made strategic choices involving our customer and product portfolios. These choices resulted in a significant margin improvement, but at the same time had an adverse, albeit temporary, impact on our top-line growth in the year. For 2017, we are confident top-line growth will return to our guidance range. A notable highlight in the second half of the year was the announcement of the PLA joint venture together with Total, a market leader with technical and marketing expertise and a leading position in polymers», commented Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO.
Key Financial Highlights FY 2016
- Net sales organic growth was -1.2 percent; volume growth was -1.2 percent
- Ebitda excluding one-off items was 170.1 million EUR, an organic increase of 13.8 percent
- Ebitda margin excluding one-off items was 18.7 percent, up from 16.4 percent
- «Streamline» contributed 20 million EUR to Ebitda (2015: 15 million EUR)
- One-off items at Ebitda level of -3.2 million EUR in 2016, mostly in connection with the closure of our Kansas powder blending plant, partly offset by the sale of the Breddo-Likwifier activities
- Operating result was 126.9 million EUR, an organic increase of 17.5 percent
- Free cash flow was 72.1 million (2015: 55.2 million EUR)
- Net debt/Ebitda at year-end was 0.6x (2015: 0.4x)
- Our 50 million EUR share-buyback program was finalized on 28 October 2016.
Key Figures
| in million EUR | FY 2016 | FY 2015 | Total growth | Organic growth |
| Net sales | 911.3 | 918.3 | -0.8% | -1.2% |
| Ebitda excluding one-off items | 170.1 | 150.3 | 13.2% | 13.8% |
| Ebitda margin excluding one-off items | 18.7% | 16.4% | ||
| Operating result | 126.9 | 108.6 | 16.9% | 17.5% |
| ROCE | 20.6% | 19.2% |
.
Outlook 2017
Our expectations for 2017 are based on moderate global economic growth. We are confident in the execution of our Disciplined Value Creation strategy. In the Food business segment, we expect a better sales growth performance in 2017 than the year before, as the temporary adverse sales growth effects of our 2016 portfolio optimization are expected to fade out in the first half of 2017. The Biochemicals business segment is also expected to show an improved sales growth performance in 2017 compared to 2016. As a consequence, for Biobased Ingredients, we expect full-year sales growth to be within the multi-year average guidance range of 2-4 percent.
We expect the portfolio changes initiated over 2016 to have a continued positive effect on our Ebitda margin in Biobased Ingredients. However, as the price of sugar cane, one of our main raw materials, increased over the course of 2016, we anticipate an adverse effect on our Ebitda margin in 2017. On balance we expect some Ebitda margin pressure and our Ebitda excluding one-off items for 2017 to be slightly below that of 2016. The Ebitda margin in Biobased Ingredients is expected to remain firmly above the 18 percent target level. Volatility in the Ebitda of Biobased Innovations will remain high due to irregular product and sales order patterns and spend phasing of our major innovation initiatives.
Overall capital expenditure in 2017 is expected to be between 60-70 million EUR (including 50 percent share of PLA joint venture capital expenditure). We will hold a Capital Markets Day in the fourth quarter of 2017 to provide an update on our strategy progress, targets, and plans for the future.
