Amsterdam / NL. (cb) Corbion reported Q3 2015 sales of 235.6 million EUR, an increase of 18.6 percent compared to Q3 2014. Organic sales growth was 4.6 percent, mostly driven by price/mix improvements. Ebitda excluding one-off items in Q3 2015 increased by 44.2 percent to 39.8 million EUR.
«Q3 was yet another strong quarter for Corbion from both a sales and profit perspective. This performance was driven by continuous product mix improvements, currencies, and the successful implementation of our Streamline productivity improvement program. Organic growth was particularly strong in Food, whereas Biochemicals showed a small decline. Ebitda progress was visible in both segments», commented Tjerk de Ruiter, CEO.
Key financial highlights Q3 2015:
- Net sales organic growth in Q3 was 4.6 percent; volume growth was 0.3 percent
- Ebitda before one-off items in Q3 was 39.8 million EUR, an organic increase of 18.2 percent
- Ebitda margin before one-off items was 16.9 percent in Q3 (Q3 2014: 13.9 percent)
- Our productivity improvement program Streamline is on track, with a positive impact on Q3 2015 Ebitda of 4.2 million EUR
- One-off benefit due to insurance proceeds in connection with the Grandview incident earlier in the year
- We finalized our 50 million EUR share buyback program
Outlook
For 2015, in our business unit Biobased Ingredients, we expect full year growth to be near the upper end of the guidance range of 2-4 percent. In Biobased Innovations we continue to expect higher R+D activity levels in Q4, causing increased costs in the quarter. As the fourth quarter is usually the slowest quarter in the year we continue to expect Corbion Ebitda before one-off items in H2 to come in slightly below that of H1 2015 (77.1 million EUR).
Biobased Ingredients
In Q3, the Biobased Ingredients business unit showed sales growth of 17.5 percent driven by price/mix improvements of 3.3 percent and a currency effect of 12.6 percent. Organic growth was in the upper half of the guidance range of two to four percent (2014-2018 CAGR).
Business segment Food
The Food segment grew organically by 5.0 percent, significantly above the guidance range of 1-3 percent. Growth was mostly driven by a positive price/mix development of 4.3 percent, whereas volume growth was modest with 0.7 percent.
Bakery sales grew, driven by a positive price/mix effect rather than volume increases. A significant part of the price/mix effect was attributable to higher egg and folic acid prices, as well as the continuing shift of the North American bakery industry to higher value-add enzyme blends.
Meat sales grew only slightly in North America but continued to expand rapidly in Latin America and Asia where our customer base keeps growing. Switching activity to low-cost-in-use alternatives was once again limited.
In Beverages, Confectionery, and Dairy, sales decreased slightly due to competitive market conditions.
The Ebitda margin increased because of the cost-efficiency effects of our productivity improvement program Streamline and the more profitable product mix.
Business segment Biochemicals
In Q3, the Biochemicals business segment showed an organic sales decrease of 2.1 percent, below the guidance range of 5-8 percent, mainly due to a significant drop in lower cost/lower price feed acidifiers volumes compared to last year. Chemicals was one of the weaker markets as polymer additives and oil-related products experienced lower demand. Although we expect these adverse factors to last throughout 2015, we reiterate the 5-8 percent CAGR growth guidance range over the 2014-2018 period. Electronics and Medical Biomaterials continued to perform well. The Ebitda margin increased significantly due to our Streamline program and a higher contribution of Medical Biomaterials.
Biobased Innovations
Biobased Innovations grew substantially in Q3, both year-on-year and compared to recent quarters. Sales were driven by increased Lactide sales as well as seeding volumes in PLA. A significant part of the PLA-related sales was in high value-added applications, having a positive effect on margins. Due to the inherent volatility in quarterly expense levels for activities such as succinic acid and FDCA, spending was relatively low in Q3 (Image: CSM Bakery Solutions / Tables: Corbion).
