Welcome to the Fast Track

2010/11 was our first full financial year since the listing on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen on 3 June 2010. During the year the global economy has been through turbulent times with significant uncertainty. With such global turmoil we are pleased that Chr. Hansen once again can report a strong performance. We delivered on our financial targets for the year with profitable growth across all business areas. The positive development is a clear evidence of the resilience and scalability of our business model.

Strong growth

Revenue grew by 15% to EUR 636 million with organic growth of 14% (10% adjusted for increased sales prices to reflect higher raw material prices for carmine). All three divisions contributed to the strong growth. The Cultures & Enzymes Division delivered stable organic growth of 6%. Dairy cultures for the production of cheese and fermented milk products experienced good growth while the uncertainty surrounding regulation of health claims in EU affected growth of probiotic cultures negatively.

The Natural Colors Division delivered organic growth of 40% (19% adjusted for increased sales prices to reflect higher raw material prices for carmine), significantly above historical performance.

The Health & Nutrition Division continued to benefit from the increased health awareness and showed strong organic growth of 16%, driven by human health products, but also animal health performed above market growth.

Profitability

As a result of scalability effects in all our divisions and a continued focus on efficiency gains, EBIT before special items (b.s.i.) increased by 14% to EUR 159 million and EBIT margin b.s.i. remained at 25%, despite the negative effect from the changed business mix caused by the strong growth in the Natural Colors Division.

Primarily as a result of the repayment and refinancing of debt in connection with the IPO last year and the growing business, net result was significantly improved to EUR 119 million compared to EUR 19 million last year.

Management changes

Over the last year the Executive Board was changed. Hans Thorkilgaard, Executive Vice President and Henning Jakobsen, CFO both decided to leave Chr. Hansen to pursue other opportunities. We would like to thank both Hans and Henning for their great efforts during their time at Chr. Hansen.

Klaus Pedersen, CFO and Carsten Bennike, Executive Vice President Natural Colors joined Chr. Hansen while Jesper Allentoft, Stakeholder Relations was appointed Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Board.

Responsible business

At Chr. Hansen, we take our responsibilities very seriously, with persistent focus on creating business value while showing consideration for the environment and society at large. During 2010/11 we have succeeded in further reducing the environmental impact from our production. Key performance indicators for energy and water consumption as well as CO₂ emission per produced unit all improved.

High product safety is a cornerstone in Chr. Hansen and during the year we obtained important food safety certifications on our facilities in North America and Germany and we will seek to obtain certifications for our other production sites in the coming years.

The increasing demand for natural colors puts pressure on our sourcing of raw materials. In Chr. Hansen we strive to secure sustainable sourcing. We have engaged in various initiatives both to educate farmers in good agricultural practices and knowledge of fair labor and operating principles and to strengthen our supply chain for raw materials for natural colors.

Innovation for growth

A cornerstone of our business is a strong bioscience  platform for innovative product and process development. Our highly skilled R&D staff performs state-of-the-art innovation and transforms it into the best applications while maintaining long-standing relations and working partnerships with our customers. We believe that these strengths contribute to our leading market positions. In combination with the major global market trends and our presence in growth markets, this enables us to protect and further increase our market share. In 2010/11 6% of our revenue was spent on R&D and a range of new product solutions was launched within our three divisions.

The people factor

The success of Chr. Hansen is deeply dependent on our highly skilled employees. With a continued effort to secure new innovative products, provide great customer experiences and pursue new efficiency opportunities they lay the foundation for the future development of Chr. Hansen. We have again this year launched a number of new initiatives with the objective of improving the skills of our employees and the quality of management on all levels. In 2010/11 the average number of training days per employee was 2.6. By the end of the financial year Chr. Hansen employed more that 2,300 people across the world. During the year we strengthened our sales organization especially in emerging markets, while a number of employees transferred to Frutarom as part of our divestment of the Functional Blends activities.

Business Direction

2010/11 showed the strength of Chr. Hansen's resilient businesses. However, we wish to aim higher. Chr. Hansen is well positioned to benefit from three global megatrends: Global growth in industrial food production, increased focus on health and wellness and increased demand from consumers in emerging markets.

To benefit from these trends we wish to deliver superior and specialized value added solutions with documented performance and high quality that increase the success of our customers in selected food and health industries. In order to deliver this we will continuously focus on getting a better understanding of our customer’s needs and consumer trends as well as continue our investments in better documentation of the benefits of our products.

We aim for delivering strong profitable organic growth, expanding our position in technologies and markets, where we can hold market leadership and seek to utilize the scalability effects from our business model, hereby creating value for our shareholders.

Dividend

For the financial year 2010/11, we propose a dividend of EUR 0.48 (DKK 3.57) per share corresponding to EUR 65 million. The dividend equals net cash proceeds from the sale of the Functional Blends activities plus 40% of net profit.

The Board of Directors have decided to change Chr. Hansen Holding A/S' dividend policy from 2011/12. The pay-out ratio is changed from between 30%-40% to 30%-50% of net profit. Proposal of dividends depends on the Board's assessment of factors such as business development, growth strategy and financing needs and there can be no assurance that in any given year a dividend will be proposed or declared.

Ole Andersen	Lars Frederiksen
Chairman of the Board	CEO