AMSTERDAM — Corbion NV has begun a process to divest its non-core emulsifiers business, company executives said at Corbion’s capital markets day Dec. 1. The Amsterdam-based company also has created a new business unit for algae ingredients.
Corbion on Dec. 1 increased its net sales growth target for 2023-25 to 5% to 8%, up from 4% to 7%, and set an adjusted EBITDA growth target of 15% to 20% for 2023-25. Corbion’s stock price on Dec. 1 closed at €33.10 ($34.74) per share, up 13% from the Nov. 30 close of €29.24.
Corbion is a market leader in the US emulsifier market and a leading supplier of emulsifiers to the North American bakery market, but the company in 2020 categorized the emulsifier business as non-core. Divesting the business will allow Corbion to focus on growing its core business, according to the company, which did not set a timetable for any transaction.
The company’s Sustainable Foods Solutions business unit, consisting of natural food preservation and functional systems, has had a compound annual growth rate of 13% so far in 2022, said Olivier Rigaud, chief executive officer for Corbion. The SFS segment had sales of €579.1 million ($607.8 million) through the first nine months of fiscal year 2022.
“We believe our SFS has a higher portfolio and has the potential to reach €1 billion sales by 2030,” Mr. Rigaud said.
The Lactic Acid and Specialties business unit has had a CAGR of 15% over the past two years, he said.
Corbion has achieved break-even EBITDA in algae-based omega-3 fatty acids.
“We have over 9,000 strains,” Mr. Rigaud said. “This is still very, very minor. There is still so much that can be developed there. Usually, these algae, they only grow with sunlight and CO2. What we are doing at Corbion is that we are cultivating them on large industrial scale in fermenters, saving significant amount of valuable water and agricultural land.”
The primary target for algae currently is aquaculture, and Corbion plans to expand into new categories like pet nutrition.
“From €14 million in sales back in 2020, the business reached €31 million sales in ‘21, and we will more than double that this year,” Mr. Rigaud said. “So we had, since 2020, an impressive CAGR growth of 84% in microalgae.”
Corbion now has four business units: Sustainable Food Solutions, Lactic Acid and Specialties, Algae Ingredients, and Incubator.
Corbion will aim for €250 million adjusted EBITDA for its core activities by 2025 and expects to improve its funding ratio to 2.9x to 3.2x by the end of 2022, below 2.9x in 2023 and between 1.5x and 2.5x from 2024 onwards.
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