CEO: Interest in acquisition of Hain Pure Protein high

Hain Celestial has confirmed that it plans to divest of Hain Pure Protein and that potential buyers have already shown a great interest in the broiler and turkey company.

Roy Graber Headshot
PaulCowan, Bigstock
PaulCowan, Bigstock

Hain Celestial has confirmed that it plans to divest of Hain Pure Protein and that potential buyers have already shown a great interest in the broiler and turkey company.

Irwin Simon, CEO of Hain Celestial, a diversified natural and organic products company, said the company is seeking to simplify its portfolio, and its strategy to do so includes divesting of Hain Pure Protein (HPP).

Simon, speaking during Hain Celestial’s earnings conference call for the second quarter of the 2018 fiscal year, said HPP is a successful business, but would potentially be better suited to be a part of a larger animal protein company.

“We built this business from basically scratch to an over $500 million business today,” Simon said during the call on February 7, adding that HPP is today one of the “fastest-growing leading organic and antibiotic-free protein businesses.”

However, as part of Hain Celestial, Hain Pure Protein has a limited ability to become a global supplier of protein.

“When you have your plants basically on the East Coast, it’s hard to ship past the Midwest or past the Southeast,” said Simon. “(HPP) being part of a larger strategic protein company makes a lot more sense.”

Simon added that the sale of HPP would also enhance Hain Celestial shareholder value and position the company for future growth.

Hain Pure Protein finishes strong quarter

Simon reported that on a year-over-year basis, HPP’s profitability tripled during the second quarter, which ended on December 31, 2017. The quarter included both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, which translate into strong sales of its Plainville Farms brand.

Simon said its net sales for the Plainville Farms brand increased 15 percent when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Net sales for the company’s FreeBird chicken brand were up 17 percent, and net sales for Empire Kosher were up seven percent.

“We’re very pleased with Hain Pure Protein’s improved results during the most important quarter of the year for the protein business,” said Simon. “For Q2, we had a very strong finish to the holiday season, delivering well over 1.4 million turkeys to our customers and consumers.”

Page 1 of 49
Next Page