BAGSVAERD, Denmark, January 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading biotechnology company Novozymes reports 13% sales growth in 2008. Earnings were also very satisfactory. Growth outlook for 2009 of 8-13% in DKK in an uncertain market. Strong long-term trends lead to new, increased targets and higher investments to support higher future growth level.
“2008 was a strong year for Novozymes. I’m very pleased with our performance,” says Steen Riisgaard, President and CEO. “Lower growth in the fourth quarter may point to a slowdown going into 2009. But further ahead there are favorable trends and opportunities for our business, so we have upped our level of ambition and increased our long-term targets.”
Enzymes for fuel ethanol production were the strongest 2008 growth contributor, outperforming growth in North American fuel ethanol output.
In view of the economic environment, Novozymes considers its 2009 growth outlook satisfactory:
Total expected investments in 2009 are DKK 1.3-1.5 billion. This includes the building of a new enzyme plant in Nebraska, USA, at a cost of USD 160-200 million in 2009-2010. Compared to the initial announcement, this roughly represents a doubling of the capacity to be built as well as investment cost, in order to ensure that future demand from the growing biofuels market can be met in the years to come.
In the light of last year’s performance and the expected long-term trends, Novozymes has increased its long-term financial targets to:
2009/Group+financial+statement+for+2008.htm (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser’s URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)
CONTACT: Contacts: Johan Melchior, Tel.: +45-4446-0690, Mobile:
+45-3077-0690, jmel@novozymes.com; Paige Donnelly, Tel.: +1-919-494-3209,
Mobile: +1-919-218-4501, pagd@novozymes.com
