Greenyard announces healthy growth in sales & REBITDA

Greenyard announced its results for the first half ending September 30, 2016. Highlights from H1 ending September 30, 2016, include an 8.6% increase in sales YoY to € 2.146,1m. Growth came from internal growth (6,8%) and M&A (2,8%) with FX being slightly negative (-0,9%).

Fresh’ sales grew by 6,9% mainly thanks to growth in the German and Dutch markets. Long Fresh’ sales were also up 19,6% supported by solid internal sales growth (4,1%) and the incorporation of Lutèce (18,2%).

However, horticulture sales were slightly down (-2,5%) due to a planned product discontinuation. 

Moreover, REBITDA increased by 7,2% to € 77,7m, a margin of 3,6%. The REBITDA improvement in H1 (YoY) of € 5,2m is mainly driven by:

 Fresh improved by € 4,7m thanks to top line growth in core markets and improved margins in the logistic operations

 Long Fresh reported a small drop (€ -0,7m) as improved portfolio management, volume growth and ongoing efficiencies compensated the impact from adverse weather conditions and ongoing price pressure in Prepared

 Horticulture’s profitability rose further ( € 1,2m) thanks to an improved product mix

 Net profit came in at € 6,8m, which translates into an EPS of € 15c

 Net debt dropped by € 36,5m YoY to € 379,0m. This results in a leverage of 2,7x, down from 2,8x at year-end and 3,1x in September 2015

‘Greenyard started the year with good internal growth, combined with solid improvement in REBITDA. We continue to focus on our strategic priorities to drive profitable growth. As evidenced by the smooth integration of Lutèce with synergies continuing to come in. The expansion in Lipno, Poland, became operational this summer and supports our operational excellence program in Frozen. The new US facility, planned to open next year, is illustrative for our ambitions in the Growth markets. Finally, the operations in Frozen France are normalising. We continue to strengthen the corporate culture under our new name ‘Greenyard’, a powerful umbrella for the future.‘