Nutreco on Thursday reported its financial results for the second half of 2009, including an EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortization) of EUR 133.6 million (USD 184 million), up 33.9 percent from the same period in 2008. Profit also increased over the second half of 2008 more than 39 percent, to EUR 79.3 million (USD 109 million).
However, the Dutch fish feed manufacturer’s revenue from continuing operations declined 8.9 percent, to EUR 2.4 billion (USD 3.3 billion).
Nutreco said its premix and feed specialties business performed well, with growth in Norway compensating for a reduced demand for fish feed in Chile. Nutreco also strengthened its business in Spain and Portugal last year with the acquisition of a Cargill subsidiary, which it believes will create cost savings due to optimization of production and logistics.
“We are pleased with the performance in 2009. Despite the economic turmoil, Nutreco applied strong measures at the beginning of 2009 to withstand the recession. Our programs to reduce working capital and operational costs paid off,” said Nutreco CEO Wout Dekker. “After a challenging start, we ended the year in a much stronger mode and well positioned for 2010. The development of the overall demand for our products in encouraging.”
Looking to 2010, the company is incorporating sustainability targets in the remuneration package of its managers, including clear targets to reduce the CO2 emissions of our operations by half in 2015.
