- Glanbia Q1 sales rise 10.5%
- Excluding FX sales increased 3.6%
- Performance nutrition, dairy Ireland offset sluggish ingredients
Glanbia, the Irish dairy group, booked higher first-quarter sales as currency exchange offset pricing pressure in US cheese and ingredients.
The company said this morning (12 May) reported sales were up 10.5% in the three months to 4 April. Excluding the impact of currency exchange sales were down 3.6% as pricing dropped 10%.
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In global performance nutrition, Glanbia said it delivered a "good" performance with sales rising 2.2% thanks to the contribution of acquisitions and pricing, which offset lower volumes. Its Dairy Ireland division saw sales rise by 7.4%. Higher pricing and volume contributed to the growth.
According to Jeffries analyst Alex Howson, the first three months of the year is likely to be the "slowest" quarter for Glanbia. "It is encouraging that management confirm that the US sports nutrition market is showing "renewed momentum", with a return to a circa 6% growth rate following the deceleration to circa 4% in 2014. It has been well-flagged that the strong USD:EUR currency move is a transactional headwind for global performance nutrition, particularly in exporting products internationally. This has led to a slowdown in the international business more generally, particularly in Russia, Brazil and Australia, where other geo-political factors have also impacted. However the long-term outlook for these markets remains positive."
