The protein bars gobbled up by nutrition specialist Glanbia (GLB) as part of its November acquisition of US-based thinkThin added muscle to the group's performance. The brand sits in the performance nutrition division and helped push revenue there up more than 12 per cent on a constant-currency basis to €505m (£437m). A substantial improvement in volumes - up 8 per cent - plus thinkThin's 10.7 per cent sales contribution helped offset a 6.7 per cent price cut as a result of promotional activity.
The dairy market remains a drag, though, given that it has a direct impact on the other three divisions. In the nutritionals division - the largest by turnover - sales fell nearly 6 per cent to €573m as price falls in the US cheese market outweighed volume growth. Glanbia's Dairy Ireland division also saw revenue drop more than 3 per cent to €357m, once again because price falls outweighed the positive momentum in volumes. And joint ventures and associates, which account for more than a fifth of gross sales, was also impacted by the "challenging dairy environment". The fall was augmented, however, by the disposal of its stake in Nutricima in April last year to PZ Cussons (PZC).
Prior to the results, analysts at Berenberg expected pre-tax profit of €255m for the year to December 2016, leading to EPS of 72.1¢, up from €219m and 62.1¢ in 2015.
| GLANBIA (GLB) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,774¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €5.25bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,771-1,775¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,893¢ | LOW: 1,560¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.7% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 355¢* | NET DEBT: | 61% | |
| Half-year to 2 Jul | Turnover (€bn) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.43 | 118 | 33 | 4.88 |
| 2016 | 1.43 | 130 | 37 | 5.37 |
| % change | - | +10 | +11 | +10 |
Ex-div: 25 Aug Payment: 7 Oct *Includes intangible assets of €921.7m, or 311¢ a share £1=€1.15 | ||||
