Glanbia shares surge after earnings outlook upgrade
Reuters
Shares in nutrition supplement maker Glanbia opened 10 per cent higher on Wednesday after it increased its full-year earnings outlook and said it was overcoming challenges that pushed its shares to a two-year low in February.
Glanbia said it expected full-year earnings per share of $1.30-$1.33 on an adjusted basis, up from its previous forecast of $1.24-$1.30. The firm earned $1.40 per share last year.
The Kilkenny-based firm separated in 2022 from the farmer-owned co-op Tirlán to focus on its global business, with a particular focus on the US.
The company reported "strong growth" in its health nutrition and dairy nutrition businesses and "sequential improvement" in performance nutrition.
Glanbia is not seeing any consumer weakness in the US and the impact of tariffs is "manageable", chief financial officer Mark Garvey said in an interview following the release of the results.
"You never know with today's market when you are, but certainly I feel a lot better than I did three months ago," Garvey said.
Glanbia in February issued a profit warning, in part due to a rise in the cost of whey – a key ingredient in the protein powders and shakes popular with gym goers. Whey prices now look likely to moderate next year as more capacity comes on stream, Garvey said.
The firm in April reported lower revenue from performance nutrition products in US club retailers and speciality channels, but in the second quarter of the year saw positive volumes and pricing through those channels, Garvey said.
"We're going to pass that club channel challenge that we had," Garvey said.
The company also unveiled Paul Duffy, a former chairman and chief executive of Pernod Ricard North America, as chair designate to replace Donal Gaynor who is due to step down from the role at the end of the year.
Glanbia shares were trading at €13.54 on Wednesday morning, up 47 per cent from their low of €9.20 on April 9th.
