With sales of sports nutrition products driving growth at Glanbia (GLB) in the first half, it should come as no surprise that the Irish ingredients group plans to pump €60m (£48m) into its performance nutrition business. The investment will increase Glanbia's capacity to produce high-end whey and lactoferrin - a speciality milk component used in infant formula and supplements - at its Idaho-based facilities in the US.
That's good news, given that the global nutrition division is leaping ahead: first-half sales surged 22 per cent to €375m at constant exchange rates. The growth was volume driven, as demand for sports nutrition rose across all of Glanbia's end markets. And the business is also highly profitable: trading profit jumped 28 per cent to €42.9m.
Trading has been more muted elsewhere. Volumes in the global ingredients division slumped, leaving profit flat at €53.9m. Meanwhile, the dairy Ireland segment, which produces consumer goods such as milk and cream, saw both sales and profits fall against a challenging consumer backdrop.
The group delivered an 11.5 per cent uplift in adjusted EPS in the first half, so it only needs to hammer out 3.5 per cent growth in the second to achieve management's 8 to 10 per cent full-year target. Accordingly, analysts have left their EPS forecasts unchanged at 60¢-61¢.
| GLANBIA (GLB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,173¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €3.5bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,171-1,176¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,200¢ | LOW: 920¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.9% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 233¢* | NET DEBT: | 68% | |
| Half-year to 5 Jul | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.24 | 95.0 | 27.4 | 4.03 |
| 2014 | 1.29 | 97.9 | 28.3 | 4.43 |
| % change | +5 | +3 | +3 | +10 |
Ex-div: 27 Aug Payment: 10 Oct £1=€1.25 *Includes intangible assets of €472m, or 160¢ a share | ||||
