DENMARK – Global bioscience company, Chr. Hansen has announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Søren Westh Lonning, who has stepped down to pursue his career as CFO of a private equity backed company.
Søren has been working with the Danish company for more than 12 years, serving as the CFO since 2015 and “has left a very positive mark on the company and achieved outstanding results.”
“I want to thank him for his time here, and his leadership and contributions will be missed,” commented Mauricio Graber, CEO of Chr. Hansen.
“Most recently I have valued his contributions in leading the strategy review process together with me and in close collaboration with the corporate leadership team. I wish him the best of luck in the next step in his career.”
Søren Westh Lonning said: “I am truly grateful for the opportunities that I have been given in Chr. Hansen, and I will certainly miss many talented colleagues from the entire organization.
“I leave Chr. Hansen with a sense of accomplishment, and I believe the company is in great shape and with an exciting future ahead. I sincerely value the close collaboration with our CEO Mauricio Graber and the corporate leadership team.”
The ingredient supplier, which announced the departure while releasing its second quarter financial report, said that Søren will leave his position at the company after the full-year report of the 2019/20 financial year.
During the second quarter, Chr. Hansen reported a 5% organic growth, with an improving momentum in all areas: Food Cultures & Enzymes 5%, Health & Nutrition 8% and Natural Colors 1%.
The improved growth momentum in Q2 lifted the company’s organic revenue growth in the first six months of 2019/20 financial year to 3%.
Revenues during the three months period climbed 4% to €294.7 million (US$309.37 million) year-over-year, with the company noting that the COVID-19 outbreak in China did not have a material impact on its business during the quarter.
However, Mauricio said that the company expects to see both favorable and unfavorable impacts in the second half of the year, as the virus has spread globally.
“Based on the business performance in the first part of the year, we maintain our guidance for the full year, although subject to greater macroeconomic uncertainty due to COVID-19,” Mauricio said.
The company has also decided to postpone the CMD to focus on business continuity and operations.
