Food testing boosts Eurofins Q1 results
The organic growth during Q1 2014 is notable given the strong comparable results in Q1 2013, which was influenced by the horsemeat scandal.
Organic growth of companies that are not in significant restructuring stood at 9% during the period.
Q1 growth
Eurofins achieved revenues of €304m in the first quarter, representing growth of 13% compared to Q1 2013, over 8% of which was organic.
Currency impact was almost -3% and acquisitions made up the remainder of the growth, given the timing of the completion of transactions.
The firm reported eight acquisitions with total annualised revenues of about €70m signed.
Out of the transactions, only two have been consolidated during the quarter, with marginal financial impact, said the firm.
Dr Gilles Martin, CEO, said: “Our results in the first quarter reflect both the continued positive trends in our industry, and the benefits of our ongoing investments into our network.
“The strong performance in the seasonally quiet period allows us to remain optimistic of achieving our objective of €1.4bn of revenues and €250m of adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2014.”
Geographic breakdown
In the US, regulatory catch-up continues to drive strong growth in food testing, said the firm.
In Germany, Eurofins’ market share gains continued to accelerate in both food and environmental testing, as reflected in double-digit organic growth generated by the German operations.
The uptick in food testing in France and some parts of environmental testing, more than offset the continued impact of the IPL restructuring.
The group generated good organic growth during the quarter in the UK, despite strong comparable results in the same period last year, which included impact from the horsemeat scandal.
Organic growth generated by the Nordic businesses was in-line with the group’s objective, partially due to the milder winter compared to last year, benefitting the environmental testing businesses.
Eurofins said its expanding activities in emerging markets and the Asia Pacific region continued to post strong growth.
Growth in environmental testing was supported by the mild winter in Europe, partially offsetting the impact from the ongoing restructuring challenges at IPL in France and severe winter in the US.
