Strong start to 2022 for Glanbia as revenues rise in first quarter

Global nutrition group Glanbia said it got off to a strong start in 2022, with revenues rising a third in the first three months of the year.

In an interim management statement for the period ended April 2nd, the group said demand had driven revenues higher year on year, with turnover from its wholly owned business up 33.5 per cent.

The group said it took “significant action” to mitigate inflation, as pricing rose 17 per cent over the period. Volume growth was almost 7 per cent for the quarter.

On a like-for-like basis, wholly owned revenue growth was 23.9 per cent compared with the previous year.

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Revenue at the Glanbia Performance Nutrition unit was up more than 22 per cent in the first three months of the year, driven in part by a stronger exchange rate and rising prices, which were up 13 per cent. Volume rose 1.7 per cent, while the acquisition of LevlUp added 1 per cent.

Volume growth was fuelled by performance nutrition, healthy snacking and plant-based categories, which offset declines in the diet category. The GPN Americas business saw 13.8 per cent growth in revenue, while the international unit delivered 20.1 per cent growth. The European direct-to-consumer business performed well, Glanbia said, with consumer demand for performance nutrition remaining robust in core markets.

Price hikes

Glanbia Nutritionals saw revenue rise more than 38 per cent, with volume up 9.4 per cent and price hikes contributing almost 20 per cent of the growth.

Nutritional Solutions revenues were up almost 30 per cent, while the US cheese business saw revenues grow more than 42 per cent, with volume growth of 11.7 per cent in the latter as a new large-scale joint venture plant in Michigan which was commissioned.

“Glanbia continues to grow as a focused, purpose-led global nutrition company serving powerful consumer health and wellness trends. This strategy underpins our growth, which continued in first quarter of 2022 with revenues up 25 per cent, on a constant currency basis, versus prior year,” said Siobhán Talbot, group managing director. “Inflation remains a key dynamic for Glanbia, and we have taken significant mitigating actions across the group by increasing prices by 17 per cent in the first quarter and delivering volume growth of 6.9 per cent while managing our cost base prudently.”

Net debt at the end of the first quarter was €552.3 million, up from €498.5 million in the first quarter of 2021, with significant borrowing capacity on its balance sheet.

Share buybacks

Last month, the group completed its disposal of its 40 per cent interest in Glanbia Ireland to the co-operative society for €307 million.

Glanbia invested €91.5million in buying back shares in the first quarter. To date, the company has invested €123.4 million in share buybacks.

"We have maintained momentum on our strategic agenda in the period by completing the disposal of our interest in the Glanbia Ireland joint venture as well as acquiring Sterling Technology, a bioactive ingredient company, which builds on our offering in immunity solutions in Nutritional Solution," Ms Talbot said.

Glanbia said it had raised expectations for the full-year results, based on the confidence from the first-quarter results. It expects to deliver between growth in adjusted earnings per share of 5-10 per cent, on a constant currency basis.