Nutrition & Health

  • Sales decline 5% to €1,844 million, primarily as a result of divestitures
  • EBIT before special items considerably below the 2016 figure due to higher fixed costs

Sales to third parties in 2017 declined by €88 million to €1,844 million in the Nutrition & Health division. This was primarily attributable to portfolio effects. Sales were also reduced by slightly lower sales prices, especially for vitamins, as well as negative currency effects. Higher volumes in almost all business areas had an offsetting effect.

Nutrition & Health – Factors influencing sales
Performance Products – Nutrition & Health – Factors influencing sales (bar chart)
Nutrition & Health – Sales by region
(Location of customer)
Performance Products – Nutrition & Health – Sales by region (pie chart)

EBIT before special items declined considerably compared with 2016. This was mainly due to higher fixed costs from the gradual startup of our new aroma ingredients complex in Kuantan, Malaysia, as well as the expansion of capacities at our ibuprofen production facility in Bishop, Texas. Earnings were also reduced by lower margins, especially for vitamins.

On October 31, 2017, a fire occurred during startup of the citral plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany. As a result, we had to declare Force Majeure for all citral- and isoprenol-based aroma ingredients, and consequently for vitamin A, vitamin E and several carotenoid products as well.