Glanbia Lifts Profit Guidance as Sports Nutrition Growth Accelerates

Irish nutrition giant Glanbia has raised its full-year earnings guidance after a strong nine months, and investors responded by pushing the shares up 8.5 percent to 21.80 euros. Revenue to 3 October rose 7.2 percent, while like-for-like revenue grew 9.9 percent, split between 4.2 percent volume growth and 5.7 percent pricing.

Performance Nutrition, the engine of the business, grew revenue 9.1 percent and Health and Nutrition rose 14 percent, with Dairy Nutrition up 2.2 percent. Glanbia now expects Performance Nutrition like-for-like growth of 16 to 17 percent, up from 12 to 14 percent, and adjusted earnings per share growth of 22 to 24 percent at constant currency.

Chief executive Hugh McGuire credited market share gains and the group's response to whey inflation through pricing. Dairy Nutrition EBITDA guidance narrowed to between 175 and 180 million dollars. The upgrade shows protein demand remains resilient even as raw material costs bite, giving the sector a confidence boost heading into winter.