DSM earmarks €3bn for nutrition acquisitions

22 Jun 2018 --- Royal DSM has set aside about €3 billion to spend on acquisitions to expand its nutrition business and maintain its profit growth, the company announced during its strategy update on Wednesday entitled “Growth & Value - Purpose led, Performance driven” at its Capital Markets Day in London. In the 2018 outlook, DSM reconfirmed it will position itself towards a Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living company, “pursuing enhanced organic growth, with a purpose-led coherent set of business activities, with value-creating acquisitions predominantly in Nutrition.”

“Our Strategy 2015-18 has been highly successful. After transforming DSM over the period 2010-15, we delivered strong growth with greatly improved operational and financial performance and significant value creation in all our businesses,” comments Feike Sijbesma, CEO and Chairman at DSM.

“In addition, we took important steps to monetize our non-core Pharma and Bulk Chemicals joint ventures. DSM has become a growth company with ambitious sustainability efforts creating value for all stakeholders across the three dimensions of People, Planet and Profit,” he notes.

“We have created a strong platform for growth, centered on developing innovative solutions addressing Nutrition & Health, Climate & Energy and Resources & Circularity. Increased customer centricity and large innovation projects will enable above-market growth, while we will remain focused on cost control and operational excellence, allowing us to accelerate profit and cash generation. Organic growth will be complemented by acquisitions predominantly in Nutrition,” he says. “I am convinced that our strategy will create further significant value for all our stakeholders and the step-up in the dividend demonstrates our confidence in the future."

DSM's reports that its Nutrition business will focus on human nutrition (ingredients and solutions for Food & Beverages, as well as Specialty Nutrition, nutritional ingredients, consumer branded products and Personalized Nutrition), animal nutrition (covering all species with premix and specialty solutions) and personal care and aroma ingredients.

The company is seeking to enable sustainable solutions for its customers and advocating sustainable business, by improving the impact of its own operations which will help DSM grow faster and reduce its cost and risk profile.

NutritionInsight recently featured a key interview with Anthony Hehir, Director of DSM’s Nutrition Improvement Business Segment, who spoke about what drives the company’s staple food fortification technologies, research and future nutrition endeavors.