Solid turnover for Naturex as new acquisitions integrated

21-Jan-2009 - Last updated on 21-Jan-2009 at 12:53 GMT

Naturex has reported solid revenue growth for Q4 2008, closing a year of integrating new acquisitions into its business and developing a network with new offices around the world.

The French natural extracts company has revealed revenue details only ahead of its full report for the 2008 fiscal year, which will be published on March 30 after the close of trading.

Revenue for Q4 was €23m, up from €9.3m in the same period of 2007. This year’s quarter does include revenue from Chart Corporation, the US natural flavour ingredients firm which it acquired on 20 December 2007.

Naturex made another acquisition in early 2008, of compatriot Berkem's active ingredients division, Actifs Innovants. bought the active ingredients division of compatriot Berkem.

This buy, for which it paid €9.5m, opened up major new sales channels for Berkem’s science-backed ingredients.

Although the contribution of the newly acquired businesses has not been broken out, in 2007 the Berkem division had a turnover €3.8m in 2007. Financial details of Chart have not been made public.

Global reach

The North American market accounts for some 56.5 per cent of Naturex’s business. In Europe, which accounts for 33.7 per cent, Naturex opened a new sales office in Germany during 2008.

What is more, although Asia Pacific now only makes up 3.7 per cent of business, Naturex is building its presence there with the establishment of a subsidiary in China in the fourth quarter, and plans for a sales office in Japan by the middle of 2009.

Business balance

Naturex has said that group’s activity in 2008 has been mainly weighted towards its nutraceutical business, making up 56.8 per cent of revenue. Food and flavour comes in the second place, accounting for 32.8 per cent.

Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics currently make up relatively small parts of Naturex’s business – 4.8 and 2 per cent respectively.