Glanbia splits business in two in major restructure

IRELAND – Glanbia, an Irish ingredients giant, has announced a significant restructuring, splitting its business into two distinct entities: Health & Nutrition and Dairy Nutrition.

This move is aimed at positioning the company for its next growth phase, as it also raised its full-year financial growth outlook from 5% to 8% in its third-quarter update.

Despite a challenging year in some sectors, Glanbia Nutritional has performed in line with expectations, with overall group revenues up 6%.

Notable volume growth was seen in its Nutritional Solutions (5%), Performance Nutrition (3.2%), and Glanbia Nutritionals (2%).

However, US cheese volumes saw a slight decline of 0.7%, though overall cheese revenue grew by 6.1%, supported by a 3.9% price increase.

CEO Hugh McGuire highlighted that the volume growth was primarily driven by the company’s protein brands, including Optimum Nutrition and Isopure, as well as its premix protein solutions.

Although Glanbia’s net debt rose sharply from US$284.8 million to US$619.7 million during the quarter, the company has secured US$1.3 billion in debt facilities.

The decision to split the business into Health & Nutrition and Dairy Nutrition is designed to streamline operations and sharpen the company’s focus on end-use markets, thus enabling it to capitalize on future growth opportunities.

Under the new structure, Glanbia Nutritionals will be reorganized into two key segments: Dairy Nutrition, which will cover cheese and dairy ingredients, and Health & Nutrition, which will focus on premix solutions and flavor formats.

Glanbia Performance Nutrition, the branded division, will remain unchanged.

This restructure is set to roll out in the 2025 financial year, with updates provided throughout the year.

To support this transformation, Glanbia is initiating a company-wide transformation program aimed at enhancing productivity, driving efficiencies, and accelerating digital transformation.