DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5

Glanbia's Performance Nutrition Arm Posts 'Disappointing' Nine Month Period

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
Glanbia's Performance Nutrition Arm Posts 'Disappointing' Nine Month Period

The Performance Nutrition arm of dairy giant Glanbia has posted a 'disappointing' like-for-like performance in the first nine months of the group's financial year, albeit offset by the recent acquisition of the SlimFast brand.

Like-for-like volumes at the division were down 7.9%, while pricing was down 1.4%.

SlimFast Boost

However, a 25.8% boost in revenues resulting from the acquisition of SlimFast meant that the division posted revenue growth of 16.5%.

Glanbia said that volume declines in the Performance Nutrition division primarily related to a 'continued challenging environment in some non-US markets', with Europe, the Middle East, Brazil and India experiencing 'headwinds'.

The group said that it is 'actively addressing' these issues, with the acceleration of a new direct-to-consumer platform in Europe, investment in the value chain in Brazil and India, and an assessment of the route to market in the Middle East and Brazil. A pricing increase was also implemented, in the third quarter.

ADVERTISEMENT

The SlimFast brand posted a 'very strong performance' in the period, seeing pro forma like-for-like sales up 34.8%.

Glanbia Nutritionals

Elsewhere, Glanbia's Nutritionals business delivered revenue growth of 17.1% in the nine-month period, driven by a volume increase of 7.9% and a price increase of 5.7%. The acquisition of Watson delivered 3.5% revenue.

Within the Nutritionals arm, Nutritional Solutions, which produces protein solutions and functional beverages, saw a 25.4% increase in revenue in the nine-month period, while US Cheese saw revenue increase by 13.8%.

Glanbia's share of Joint Ventures meanwhile, saw revenue increase by 8.6%, driven by volume growth of 9.0%, however pricing saw a decline of 0.4%.

ADVERTISEMENT

Overall, for the nine month period, revenues were up 16.9%, with volume up 2.4%, pricing up 3.2% and acquisitions adding 11.3% to its performance.

Revenue Increase

“Glanbia delivered 16.9% growth in wholly-owned revenues on a constant currency basis in the first nine months of 2019 versus prior year," commented Siobhan Talbot, Glanbia group managing director. "This was driven by a strong performance from Glanbia Nutritionals, as it meets demand from its global and regional customers for dairy and non-dairy solutions, as well as a good contribution from acquisitions.

"In GPN, while we are very pleased with the performance of the SlimFast acquisition, our like-for-like volume performance is disappointing. This is largely driven by specific challenges in key non-US markets. We are actively addressing the issues in these markets as they represent a compelling long-term growth opportunity for the Group."

© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.