Novozymes, a Danish manufacturer of enzymes, saw sales growth of 7% in 2014 to DKK12.46bn (US$1.94bn; €1.67bn), compared with DKK11.75bn in 2013, which was in line with expectations. EBIT grew by 17% to DKK3.4bn in 2014.
Sales to the technical and pharmaceutical industries increased 10% to DKK830m, driven by sales of enzyme solutions and albumin for the manufacture and formulation of pharmaceutical ingredients.
The company's 2015 outlook is positive, with organic sales growth expected to be 7–9%. EBIT growth is expected to be 12–14%.
A new stock buyback programme worth up to DKK2bn is set to run this year.
Peder Holk Nielsen, President and CEO of Novozymes, said 2014 was a good year for the company.
'Novozymes is in a strong position today,' he said. 'Our technologies and solutions are in high demand.'
Going forward, Novozymes believes partnering will become more important for bringing innovation to customers, and this is the aim of the company's new 'Partnering for impact' strategy, which includes long-term targets for growth, as well as social, environmental and financial targets.
Partnerships mean deep-rooted collaborations with mutual benefits and obligations
'It is our call to action and will guide us during the coming years,' said Nielsen, who said, for Novozymes 'partnerships mean deep-rooted collaborations with mutual benefits and obligations'.
Impact is about creating healthier foods, better climate, cleaner air, nature in balance or more jobs. And it is about optimising a partner’s processes, creating new products or reducing their environmental footprints.
Novozymes will explore new kinds of partnerships, and work with governments and international organisations to create sustainable energy from waste or partner with countries to solve challenges about access to nutritious food and clean water.
'As part of our new purpose and strategy, we have set a series of long-term targets to assess how we are doing,' explained Nielsen. 'Over the next five years we aim to reach, educate, catalyse, deliver, save and enable to make a lasting difference.'