Profit forecast goes up for Chr Hansen
as natural colours spear growth in the final quarter.
The Danish firm said today that profit for 2003/04 year before tax is expected to reach DKK 200 million (€26.8m), a considerable rise on the DKK 130-150 million estimated at the end of the third quarter.
"Organic growth rate of 8 per cent in the fourth quarter was higher than expected at the end of the third quarter, leading to a revenue of approximately DKK 3.4 billion in 2003/04. The organic growth rate for the full year was 7 per cent," said the company.
With a 23 per cent slice of the natural colours market, Copenhagen-based Chr Hansen is the leading player in this buoyant market currently experiencing year on year growth estimated at 10 per cent to 15 per cent. As such producing considerable gains in comparison to synthetic colours that, according market analysts Frost & Sullivan, are undergoing a mere 1 per cent compound annual growth rate between 2001-2008.
Looking to increase market share, Chr Hansen has earmarked natural colours to bring constant growth to the bottom line. Last week the firm launched a red range sourced from fruit and vegetables. The new ColorFruit line, E163 under EU regulations, is a blend of anthocyanins developed to obtain four shades from red to violet and purple.
The firm added today that EBITA for the ingredients sector is expected to come in at about DKK 425 million, a slight raise from DKK 410 million in the nine month report in 2003/04.
The ingredients company recently reported that in the last month its share value has risen by more than 18 per cent, and during the past year stock has increased by 50 per cent.
"The booming share value is caused by a better than market performance by Chr Hansen's ingredients division, that has showed a 7 per cent organic growth," a spokesperson for Chr Hansen told FoodNavigator.com.
