Novonesis is starting to reap gains after the merger and is raising expectations after strong organic growth in the second quarter. Both the profit margin and expectations for sales growth have increased.

In connection with the presentation of the financial results for the second quarter, Ester Baiget, CEO of Novonesis, estimates that earnings exceed expectations. Novonesis achieved organic sales growth of 10 percent in the second quarter and 7 percent in the first half of the year. Revenue in the first half of the year increased to € 1943.7 million from € 1858.2 million, while the adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) grew to € 685.8 million from € 627.3 million in the same period last year.

For the full year 2024, Novonesis now expects organic sales growth of 7-8 percent and an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 35.5-36.5 percent.

The new expectations are above the consensus, as reported by FødevareWatch (food and food industry media) in a comment from the US investment bank, Citi, which also underlines that the second quarter exceeded market expectations.:

– A solid operating performance with organic sales growth, which is now more in line with other consumer chemical companies. We expect good, continued performance for the rest of the year. However, with a share price increase of percent year-to-date, further increases may be limited, as concluded by Ranulf Orr, Citi analyst – whose recommendation, according to FødevareWatch, remains “neutral”.

The merger between Novozymes and Chr. Hansen has impacted earnings during the period due to one-off costs for the integration, but Citi assesses this positively.

– The integration of Chr. Hansen seems to be going well. The cost synergies remain at 80 percent of the expected level, and the new organizational structure is now in place across regions and functions, as commented by FødevareWatch.