Company update: Novozymes

Danish industrial enzymes producer Novozymes last week reaffirmed its goal of restoring growth in its enzymes business in terms of local currencies in the second half of 2009 after a first-half dip.

 

The group’s enzymes sales fell 4% in local currencies in the first half, hit particularly by weaker sales to the US ethanol industry and the animal feed sector.

 

Its enzymes sales nonetheless grew 2% in Danish currency in the first half of 2009 year-on-year, reaching 3.79 billion Danish crowns ($732.6 million).

 

"We are down in local currencies in the first half of the year," Executive Vice President Peder Holk Nielsen, head of the enzymes business, told analysts and reporters in a strategy briefing.

 

"We have an ambition of turning that around in the second half of the year," he said.

 

"The underlying machine is performing very well despite a lower top line than we anticipated," he said.

 

He reaffirmed Novozymes’ long-term goal for organic sales growth of more than 10% annually.

 

"Once the dust settles (in the world economy) we’ll be back on a growth curve that will take us over the 10% target," he said.