Novonesis A S

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the NOVONASIS full-year financial statement for 2025 and annual report for 2025. I'm Moritz, the course call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in a listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and 1 on your telephone. For operator assistance, please press star and 0. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Tobias Cornelius Björklund, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

So, thank you, Operator, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to the NovoNesis conference call for 2025. As mentioned, my name is Tobias Björklund. I'm heading up Investor Relations here at NovoNesis. In this call, our CEO, Esther Baggett, and our CFO, Rainer Lehmann, will review our performance for the year, as well as the outlook for 2026. Attending today's call, we also have Tina Feiner, EVP of Planetary Health Biosolutions, Henrik Jørg Nilsson, EVP of Human Health Biosolutions, Andrew Taylor, EVP of Food and Beverages Biosolutions, and Klaus-Krone Fuglsang, Chief Scientific Officer. The conference call will take about one hour, including Q&A. Please change to the next slide. As usual, I would like to remind you that the information presented during the call is unaudited and that management may make forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and beliefs, and they involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statement. With that, I am now pleased to hand you over to our CEO, Esther Bajet. Esther, please.

Thank you. Thank you, Tobias, and welcome, everyone. Thank you for joining us this morning. Could you please turn to slide number three? Thank you. 2025 was another strong year, a year where we capitalized once more on the momentum from the increased relevance that our buyer solutions bring to customers and consumers around the world. From an original guidance of 5% to 8%, we ended the year delivering a strong 7%, including the negative impact from exiting certain countries of around one percentage point. Sales growth was broad-paced. and mainly volume-driven, with prices and sales synergies each contributing around one percentage point. We delivered an adjusted EBITDA margin of 37.1%, in line with our initial outlook of 37 to 38%, and despite significant negative currency development during the year. Growth in developed markets reached 6%, with solid performance in both Europe and North America. Emerging markets were particularly strong with 9% growth, driven by the increased local presence and tailored solutions. In 2025, we added around 400 people in commercial roles and customer-facing activities, with two-thirds of them in emerging markets. The integration of the Fit Enzyme Alliance acquisition, which we closed in June last year, is progressing well, and we are starting to see the benefits for being closer to the customer and from the strength of the combined BioSolutions portfolio. We launched 14 new biosolutions in the quarter, bringing the year to 33 in total. In food and beverages, we launched innovation that tapped into higher consumer demand for healthier and high-protein solutions driven by GLP-1 users, among others. Another example of innovation tapping into growing consumer demands was the new enzyme solutions for quick and cold-work cycles in household care, saving both time and money for consumers while enabling superior wash performance. We continue to focus on driving our people, planet, positive ambition. 80% of our sales are aligned with at least one sustainable development goal. I am very pleased that we have delivered on all of the six 2025 sustainability targets, including reaching 100% of electricity from renewable sources. Turning to 2026, with already good start to the year, we expect organic sales growth of 5% to 7%, mainly driven by volumes, with pricing and sales synergies each contributing around one percentage point. The outlook also includes close to a percentage point negative effect of exiting certain countries. For the adjusted EBITDA margin, we guide for 37% to 38%, with an expected margin expansion, including currency headwinds. And with this, let us look at the divisional performance in more detail, starting with food and health biosolutions. Could you please turn to slide number four? Thank you. The food and health biosolutions division delivered a strong 8% organic sales growth in the full year, including a negative impact from exiting certain countries. of around 3 percentage points. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 35.8%, an increase of 60 basis points, including the impact of currency headwinds. In the fourth quarter, organic sales growth was strong at 7%, including the negative impact of around 5 percentage points from exiting certain countries, and the margin improved as well. For 2026, we expect this division to deliver organic sales growth within the same range as for the group, driven by both food and beverages and human health. The exit of certain countries will impact in the first half of the year. Please turn to slide number five. Thank you. Food and beverages deliver a strong 8% organic sales growth for the full year and 7% in the quarter, including the impact of exiting certain countries of three percentage points for the year and six in the quarter. Growth was mainly driven by volume and pricing contributed positively in line with the group level. Growth for the full year as well as in the quarter was anchored across geographies and most industries with continued strong momentum in dairy. Performance was mainly driven by market penetration, strong adoption of innovation, and positive market development, driven by the increasing demand of clean and label, high-protein, and healthier solutions. In fresh dairy, beyond the increasing demand for efficiency, yield, and high-protein, we continue to see a strong pull for our bioprotection solutions. In cheese, customer conversion to higher yield solutions continue to be a strong driver of growth. Baking, meat, and plant-based solutions also saw strong growth, mainly driven by innovation and increased penetration. The beverage segment grew in the fourth quarter, showing the momentum of innovation still with decline for the full year, mainly impacted by lower end market beer volumes. Synergies contributed to growth in line with expectations, supported by cross-selling and increased commercial scale across food and beverages. In the fourth quarter, we launched nine new products in food and beverages across dairy, beverages, and plant-based, making it 19 for the year. One exciting example of our growth synergies is our launch of Goliath Smooth, a solution that combines a texture-enhancing enzyme with cultures. driving smoother, higher protein, and cleaner label dairy products. Another exciting launch is the Javora Enhanced for Instant Coffee. This drop-in solution helps coffee processors unlock up to 10% higher yield with improved quality, cost, and sustainability benefits. For 2026, growth in food and beverages is expected to be broad-based, including a positive impact from synergies and pricing. the exit from certain countries will impact in the first half of the year. Please turn to slide number six. Thank you. Human health delivered 10% organic sales growth, both for the full year and in the fourth quarter. Growth was mainly volume driven and negatively impacted by the exit of certain countries by around one percentage point. The release of the full revenue contributed around one percentage point to growth, both for the full year and for the quarter. The full-year development was driven by strong performance in both dietary supplements and advanced health and nutrition. Synergies contributed positively and in line with expectations. Dietary supplements grew across regions and subcategories, led by solid momentum in North America. Performance in advanced health and nutrition was driven by advanced protein solutions as we continued to scale up supply with our anchor customer and HMO. In the fourth quarter, growth was led by strong performance in dietary supplements across all regions and subcategories. And in advanced and health and nutrition, growth was driven by advanced protein solutions. In the fourth quarter, we launched one new product in human health, BioFresh Clean. It's a clinically proven liquid enzymatic formula that supports better oral hygiene. It can be applied in toothpaste and mouthwash applications as a natural and effective solution. This is yet another example of a solution where we leverage the impact of our innovation through cross-selling. For 2026, growth in human health will be driven by a continued positive momentum in dietary supplements, supported by a positive impact from synergies as well as by advanced health and nutrition led by HMO. Pricing is expected to impact positively, and the full revenue is expected to contribute around one percentage point to the growth for the sales area. The exit from certain countries will impact the first half of the year. And please, turn to slide number seven for a look at planetary health. Thank you. Planetary health biosolutions delivered a solid 6% organic sales growth for the full year. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 38.2%. an increase of 140 basis points, including currency headwinds. In the fourth quarter, organic sales growth was 2% driven by household care. Agricultural, energy, and tech was flat in the quarter, with double-digit growth in energy, offset by timing in agricultural, and a tough competitor in tech. The EBITDA margin was 36.4% in the quarter, and down 90 basis points compared to Q4 last year. This decline is primarily due to a one-off expense relating to the realignment of activities in plan, while currencies had a negative impact as well. The acquisition of the Fit Enzyme Alliance contributed positively and in line with expectations. For 2026, and with a good start of the year, we expect this division to deliver organic sales growth within the same range as for the group. with relatively stronger growth in agricultural, energy, and tech, and supported by pricing. Please turn to slide number eight. Thank you. Household care delivered 7% organic sales growth for the full year and 5% in the quarter. Growth was mainly volume-driven and with a positive contribution from price and in line with group level. The strong performance was led by increased market penetration and adaptation of new innovations. Increased ends and penetration in emerging markets contributed to growth in both laundry and dishwash, and growth in developed markets was mainly from innovation and supported by increased penetration of local and regional customers. Growth in the fourth quarter benefited mainly from similar factors as the one of the full year, as well as strong growth in professional and medical cleaning, easing the impact of end market normalization in developed markets. For 2026, we indicate solid performance in household care, with key growth drivers continuing to be innovation, increased penetration in both developed and emerging markets, as well as continued support from pricing. Please turn to slide number nine. Thank you. Agricultural, energy, and tech deliver organic sales growth of 6% for the year, while the development in the fourth quarter was flat. The full year growth was driven by a strong performance in energy, supported by tech and agriculture. Group was driven mainly by volume and pricing contributed positively, in line with the group. Energy was driven by Latin America and Asia Pacific, particularly India, reflecting increased corn ethanol production. Growth in North America was also supportive, driven by greater adoption of innovation and growing ethanol production volumes, supported by increasing exports. Further, a ramp-up in second-generation ethanol and penetration of biodiesel solutions also contributed positively. Performance in agricultural was driven mainly by plan, where the performance in animal was impacted by timing. Tech was driven by increased penetration of our solutions for biopharma processing aids. So the development of the fourth quarter was driven by double-digit growth in energy, explained by similar factors as the one of the fall year, while agricultural and tech declined due to high comparables and timing, especially in agriculture. In the fourth quarter, we launched four new products. In energy, we introduced a new yeast, increasing ethanol yield and the tough fermentation conditions, driving further value creation for our customers. And in tech, we launched an enzymatic solution that helps increase yields in vegetable oil production and reduce costs. For 2026, growth in agricultural energy and tech is expected across all industries led by energy and supported by synergies and pricing. Now, let me hand over to Rainer for a review on the financials and outlook.