Novonesis A S

Thank you very much, operator, and welcome everyone to Novo Nessis conference call for the first half of 2026. As mentioned, my name is Tobias Bjorklund. I'm heading up investor relations here at Novo Nessis. In this call, our CEO, Ester Baiget, and our CFO, Rainer Lehmann, will review our performance as well as the outlook for 2026. The conference call will take around 50 minutes, including Q&A. Please change to the next slide. As usually, 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 involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statement. With that, I now have the pleasure to hand you over to our CEO, Ester Baiget. Ester, please.

Thank you. Thank you, Tobias, and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us this morning. We delivered a strong 8% organic sales growth in the first half of the year. This includes a negative effect of around 1.5 percentage points from exiting certain countries. Price contributed close to 2 percentage points and sales synergies contributed a good 1 percentage point. Growth was broad-based across all sales areas and we achieved an adjusted EBITDA margin of 37.7%. Both developed and emerging markets grew 8% in the first half of the year, with growth across all regions. We continue to deliver growth through innovation and stronger market presence with tailored solutions. We launched 11 new biosolutions and we are on track of our full year expectation of more than 30. These launches are responding to increasing needs for healthier products, higher yields, resilient and efficient production, as well as replacing chemicals across industries. Thank you very much. Based on the strong results of the first half year and a good trajectory for the rest of the year, we are increasing our full year guidance to 7-8%. Growth is expected to be mainly volume driven, supported by a good 1% point from each from pricing and synergies. The outlook includes a close to 1% point negative effect from exiting certain countries. With a stronger sales outlook, we now also expect the adjusted EBITDA margin to be at the higher end of the 37-38% range. We announced earlier this month that we signed an agreement to acquire the remaining shares of Microbiogen, where we have been a minority shareholder since 2013, strengthening our yeast capabilities. We continuously look at our capital allocation, and with the developments we are currently seeing, we initiate a multi-year share-by-back program of a total of 1 billion euros that we expect to finalize in 2029. And with that, let us look at the divisional performance, starting with food and health biosolutions. Could you please turn to slide number four? Thank you. Food and health biosolutions delivered a strong organic sales growth of 9% in the first half of 2026, including a negative impact from exiting certain countries of around 3 percentage points. Pricing contributed close to 2 percentage points, and synergies contributed a good 1 percentage point to growth. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 36.2%, slightly higher than last year. This was mainly driven by economies of scale and synergies and partially offset by the ramp-up in commercial resources that we did over the course of 2025, product mix effects from HMO growth and currency headwinds. Transcription by CastingWords During the quarter, we launched three new products in food and health, including an analytical data platform that enables producers to deliver yogurts with consistent fresh taste over the shelf life, accelerating the use of our bioprotective cultures. For 2026, we expect the division to deliver organic sales growth around the higher end of the group range, driven by food and beverages. Could you please turn to slide number five? Thank you. Food and beverages deliver strong sales growth of 11% in both the first half of the year and in the second quarter. Pricing and sales synergies contributed positively, supported by cross-selling and increased commercial scale. Performance was supported by all industries, driven by market penetration and increasing adoption of innovation. Demand continues to be supported, by the increasing pull for resilient and cost-efficient food production, clean label and healthy products, all while delivering the right taste, the right texture profiles adapted to the local preferences around the world. Momentum in dairy continued to be strong, driven by productivity gains, upselling and customer adoption of innovation, including increasing demand for probiotics and high-protein products, all driven by health and GLP-1 trends. This was further supported by solid growth in cheese, with good contribution from conversion to our DBS format. Growth was led by North America and emerging markets. The strong growth across baking, beverages, meat and plant based solutions was mainly driven by penetration and innovation. Our increased commercial presence and technology toolbox combining cultures and enzymes is positioning us well. For 2026, a strong growth on food and beverages is expected to continue to be broad-based, supported by both synergies and pricing. Human health delivers sales of around a growth of 4%, both in the first half of the year and in the second quarter. Both pricing and synergies contributed positively. Performance was driven by advanced health and nutrition, supported by both early life nutrition and advanced protein solutions. Growth in early life nutrition was led by HMO, with a strong growth across the regions, including cross-border trade into China. Advanced Protein Solutions grew alongside our Anchor customer. Dietary supplements was impacted by a softening North American market, while the other markets contributed positively. We continue to see the resilience of the healthcare practitioner channel, a continued global pull for preventive health, and demand for innovation, both in traditional areas such as gut health and women's health, as well as in new categories such as weight management and GLP-1 support. For 2026, human health is expected to grow only slightly, supported by advanced health and nutrition led by HMO, while dietary supplements is impacted by a temporally cautious North American market. Please, turn to slide number six. Planetary Health BioSolutions delivered organic sales growth of 7% in the first half of the year and 9% in the second quarter. Pricing contributed close to 2 percentage points and sales synergies contributed a good 1 percentage point. The adjusted EBITDA margin in the first half of 2026 was 38.8%, up 40 basis points, driven by the FitEnzyme Alliance acquisition and cost synergies. Thank you very much. In the second quarter, we launch four new solutions in planetary health. In household care, we launch a multi-enzyme blend for laundry detergents to provide higher performance and stability in various formulations. In animal, we introduce a triple-strain probiotic solution, improving the health of piglets and feed efficiency. For 2026, we expect the division to deliver organic sales growth around the lower end of the group range, supported by both household care and Agricultural Energy and Tech. Please turn to slide number seven.

Thank you.