On Thursday, Novozymes (OTC:NVZMY) discussed quarterly financial results during its earnings call. The full transcript is provided below.
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The full earnings call is available at https://getvisualtv.net/stream/?novonesis-h1-2026
Summary
Novozymes reported strong financial performance with 8% organic sales growth in the first half of the year, raising its full-year guidance to 7-8%, driven by volume, pricing, and synergies.
The company highlighted strategic acquisitions, including the remaining shares of Microbiogen, and announced a share buyback program worth €1 billion by 2029.
Operational highlights included launching new BioSolutions products and expanding enzyme and probiotic offerings, with strong divisional performances in Food & Health and Planetary Health BioSolutions.
Management emphasized continued investment in innovation and capacity, with a temporary increase in CapEx, and maintained focus on sustainable long-term growth through biosolutions.
Challenges were noted in Human Health growth due to a softening North American market, but overall positive momentum was observed across other divisions and global markets.
Full Transcript
Rainer, CFO
Thank you, Esther, and good morning everyone, and welcome to today's call from my side as well. Let's turn to slide 8. In the first half of the year, sales grew by a strong 8% organically and 7% in reported euro. Pricing and synergies contributed close to 2 percentage points and a good 1 percentage point respectively. Currencies provided 4 percentage points headwind while M&A contributed positively with 3 percentage points, related to the Feed Enzyme alliance acquisition.
The organic sales growth included around a 1.5 percentage point negative effect from exiting certain countries. In the second quarter, sales grew by 9% organically and by 10% in reported euro. Pricing contributed here around 2 percentage points and synergies contributed a good percentage point. Currencies provided a 1 percentage point headwind while M&A contributed positively with 2 percentage points. The organic sales growth included around a 1.5 percentage point effect from exiting certain countries.
The adjusted gross margin was 59.7%, an improvement of 100 basis points compared to H1 of last year. Pricing, productivity improvements, sales leverage and the Feed Enzyme alliance acquisition supported the development, partly offset by product mix related to HMO growth. Total operating expenses, adjusted for PPA-related depreciation and amortization, were 29.1% of sales compared to 28.4% in the first half of last year. The development was mainly driven by the increase of resources over the course of 2025 from both organic expansion and the Feed Enzyme alliance acquisition.
The adjusted EBITDA margin in H1 was 37.7% compared to 37.4% last year, mainly driven by the higher gross margin and cost synergies. This was partly offset by higher operating expenses and currency headwinds. The inventory buildup at a key customer in Animal in Q1 had a minor positive impact on the margin. Adjusted earnings per share excluding PPA amortization increased 9% year over year to €1.09. Operating cash flow was €523.3 million in the first half of the year, representing an increase of 23% year on year.
This was mainly driven by higher net profit despite higher depreciation and amortization. CapEx in H1 amounted to €216.2 million, equal to 9.7% of sales. Free cash flow before acquisitions was flat year over year at €307.6 million. The development was driven by higher operating cash flow offset by the expected higher investment level. The Board of Directors of Novozymes has approved an interim dividend of 2.35 Danish krona per share for the first half of 2026.
The dividend will be disbursed on August 27, 2026, with 08-24-2026 as the last trading day with dividend. With this, let us now turn to slide number 9 to talk about the 2026 outlook. Please note that the outlook presented today is based on the current level of global trade tariffs and the prevailing foreign exchange environment. As Esther said earlier, based on the strong results in the first half of the year and the strong momentum and demand we see for our solutions, we are increasing the outlook for organic sales growth to 7 to 8%.
This includes a negative effect of close to 1 percentage point from exiting certain countries and a softer second half in human health. Growth is expected to be mainly volume driven, supported by a good 1 percentage point each from both sales synergies and pricing across both divisions. Second half organic sales growth will also be impacted by the reimbursement of U.S. tariffs to customers. This will only have a minor negative effect and is included in the full year outlook.
As we previously talked about, the first quarter and therefore also the first half benefited from an inventory buildup at a key customer in the animal business. For the full year this effect will be neutral. In addition, please keep in mind that in the third quarter we will be facing high comparables. We expect the adjusted EBITDA margin to be at the higher end of the range of 37 to 38% following the increased sales expectations compared to last year.
The improvement is expected to be driven by a stronger gross margin, the Feed Enzyme alliance acquisition and synergies partly offset by currency headwinds and slightly higher input costs. Net debt to EBITDA ratio is expected to be around 1.8 times at year end, supported by strong cash generation and continued deleveraging despite the increased CapEx level and the acquisition we announced earlier this month, where we have signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 77% of the shares in Microbiogen.
We have been a minority shareholder since 2013, and this is a good example of a bolt-on technology acquisition that expands our technology footprint, in this case building and expanding our yeast capabilities. As previously communicated, our temporary step-up in CapEx means that in 2026 CapEx is expected to be between 12 to 14% of sales. On a different note, starting in 2027, sales trading updates will replace the current format of the interim announcements for Q1 and Q3.
We have delivered strong results in the first half of the year, and we're seeing good momentum and strong demand for our biosolutions. To continue this journey, we're deploying our capital where it creates most value according to our capital allocation principles. Please turn to the next slide for a quick look at how we see this developing. Our number one capital allocation priority is to reinvest in organic growth through innovation, people and capacity, as this is where we see the greatest return on invested capital.
We continue to deploy capital, innovation and commercial reach while at the same time staying disciplined on cost. An example of this is the more than 400 commercial roles we added last year to support future growth. In addition, and as previously communicated, we're making a temporary step up in CapEx to build the capacity, flexibility and resilience needed towards 2030 and beyond. By 2030 we expect CapEx as a percentage of sales to normalize to a high single-digit level.
These dedicated investments include significant expansions of our U.S. culture capacity, a new large-scale multipurpose enzyme facility in emerging markets which we expect to initiate soon, expanding the new facility in Thailand for HMO and a new ERP system that allows us to scale and gain efficiencies. We see an attractive return profile on these growth investments. This is contributing to our target of doubling the adjusted return on invested capital excluding goodwill to 16% by 2030 if we exclude the merger-related PPA and goodwill.
As mentioned in a strategy update last year, the underlying return on invested capital was around 20% in 2024 with a positive trend towards 2030. Next, we continue to look for complementary bolt-on M&A. The acquisition of Microbiogen mentioned earlier is a perfect example of such a bolt-on technology acquisition. As we are entering our target leverage range, we are now also in a position to return excess cash to our shareholders. Therefore, we announced an inaugural share buyback program in the total amount of €1 billion, which we expect to be finalized by 2029 while giving us room to continue to deleverage.
With this step, we clearly show our commitment to all three building blocks of our capital allocation principles. With that, I will now hand over to Esther for a wrap up.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you very much. Rainer, could you please turn to slide number 11? Thank you. Let me summarize our message today. We continue to deliver strong results with positive momentum across all sales areas and in both developed and emerging markets, also driving strong profitability and cash flow. Our sustained performance quarter after quarter underlines the growing need for biosolutions, underlines the strength of our offering and the resilience of our broad market reach.
And on this basis we have raised the full year outlook. Overall, we are delivering on our promises of today, while also positioning the business for sustainable value creation ahead. And with that we are eager and are ready to open the call for Q&A. Operator, please.
OPERATOR
Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode while asking a question. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time.
One moment for the first question, please. And the first question comes from Thomas Lind Petersen from Nordea. Please go ahead.
Thomas Lind Petersen, Analyst at Nordea
Hi, good morning, Esther. Good morning, Rainer. Good morning everyone. Congratulations on the strong results. So, two questions from my side, please. The first one is regarding the guidance and the second second-half assumptions. You delivered a strong 8% organic growth in the first half. You raised the full year range to 7 to 8%. And sorry for being greedy here, but what specifically prevents the second-half growth from remaining around the first-half level or accelerating?
You touched a bit upon the tough comps, but you also have Russia, the exit of Russia coming out. So just where is the greatest conservatism in your new guidance here? That would be the first question. And then the second. The second question is regarding energy and E15, and I know you cannot say whether it will go through, but what are the customers currently assuming regarding year-round E15 in the U.S., and has the probability or timing of approval changed your commercial planning or capacity decisions here?
That would be my questions. Thank you.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you. Thank you, Thomas, for your questions. Let me start with the first one, pass it to Rainer and then cover the E15 question afterwards. I'll let Rainer bring the specifics of the drivers, particularly in the second half. But let me put a little bit of color on how we see where we stand. We are in a good place, in a very good place. It's been quarter after quarter that we have been delivering solid performance. We have delivered 8% in the first half, and with that strong 8% and the good momentum year to date, including the momentum we're seeing in Q3 and including our read of the market and the continuous pull of the underlying demand of the solutions that we bring, that puts us in a very good place to upgrade our guidance to 7 to 8. And with that also comes aiming to the high end of the profitability and also the strong position on cash flow. And right now I'll pass it to you for…
Rainer, CFO
So, Thomas, let me give you some color on what actually impacts a little bit the H2 growth rate while, as I said, really having still strong momentum. So first of all, we have that one-time effect in Q1 about the inventory build-up in Animal at one of our customer sites. So there was a one-off. Of course we said for the full year this is going to be neutral. That means that of course this dampens the second half in this regard. Then we also have the tariffs basically that we got partially reimbursed and also partially are giving back to the customers.
That of course has also impact on the second-half sales growth. And in addition we also flagged that Human Health will only have a slight growth. So that means that we also see here an impact on the second-half growth rate, and all of that together, you're pretty much there where you thought you expected us to be. And these are basically the main drivers for that softening—in quotes, 'softening.'
Esther Baiget, CEO
I would say strong underlying overall and in a really good place, as Rainer mentioned. And then let me build on your question on E15. It is true what you mentioned, that we don't predict the future. It is true that it passed the House and likely the hearing in the Senate this fall. It's never been that far. But also we've seen it evolving and then going backwards in the past. What I can tell you is that's not part of what we have in our growth projections.
It's not included in the long-term financial plan, and the drivers of the growth that we're seeing are driven by innovation, by penetration, and by this intimate relationship with our customers. And the growth in bioenergy is broad-based. Yes, North America is strong, and we see also now an increasing pull of demand in North America for exports into Southeast Asia. But we also see good momentum in other areas, like Brazil moved from E15 to E30 in August, and now they're starting a trial of E32 for close to 180 days.
We also see India moving in the right direction, increasing the blend rates, and speaking about even porting a path for E100. We see countries in Southeast Asia talking about increasing blend rates not only for biofuels but also for bioethanol, also for biodiesel. So overall, extraordinary pull that we see increasing, with countries embracing bolder de-risking and deleveraging of energy not only from a climate perspective but also from a national security, geopolitical stability, and to drive local jobs.
Wrapping it up, we're not making our long-term projections based on regulation; based on what we have today, it's not in the plan. But we are present and sitting at the table, having the right conversations with our customers, and ready to capitalize on the momentum when it happens.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Then the next question comes from Alex Sloan from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Alex Sloan, Analyst at Barclays
Yeah, hi. Morning all. Thanks for taking the questions also from my side, please. The first one, just on the Food and Beverage division, obviously another exceptional underlying quarter. But what really kind of stood out, I guess, is it's broad-based. Last year a lot of the conversation centered around dairy. This quarter you're talking about strength in baking, beverages, meat, plant-based. Many of those end markets are not really growing as quickly as dairy.
So could you give a bit more color on maybe what specific Novozymes solutions are gaining traction and driving that outperformance? And is it sustainable into the second half, please? And then the second one, just on the buyback, I guess. Should investors sort of interpret the announcement on the buyback at this stage as kind of a signal that the current period of elevated capital intensity is temporary and that you have maybe growing confidence that the returns on that capex are coming through or will come through?
And is it fair to assume that this level of buyback still leaves scope for deleverage and bolt-on M&A? Maybe on that latter point, can you give a bit more context on what the Microbiogen bolt-on deal that you announced earlier this month actually provides you with full ownership? Thank you.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you, Alex. I'll answer your first question and then pass it to Rainer on share buyback. You summarized it beautifully in your question. Yes, it is broad-based. Yes, it's here to stay. Yes, it's underlying, and yes, it is the outcome of a lot of self-help and we're collecting the fruits of investments we've made in the past, and we're also collecting the fruits of the combination and having a strong portfolio of enzymes and cultures all together under one roof.
We could go into many details one by one, but maybe there are two underlying drivers of why that pull is very strong. Our biosolutions are the enabler: lower cost, higher productivity, savings, higher yields, and differentiated claims, cleaner label, healthier foods, higher protein, and the demand and the pull for those have never been that strong—and we are the company best positioned to make it happen. We have a global market reach, we're investing 10% of our revenue in innovation, we're investing in capex.
We give a lot of comfort to our customers that we are the partner for growth. And when you put that together—GLP-1 trends, nutritional increasing needs, seeking healthier products, increasing productivity in the way that foods are produced—and our offering and the deep customer intimacy that translates into growth, we feel we are in a very good place. We like the 9%, we see the underlying drivers, and we're very comfortable about the future ahead.
Rainer, CFO
And Alex, on the share buyback program, basically, yeah, I can only agree to what you said. We pointed out, or I pointed out several times, that the elevated capex is temporary—that it's really the next two years—and that by 2030 we're going to go into high single digit, then gradually. So you can see also the share buyback commitment as another confirmation of that step. And yes, you're absolutely right, of course we see good returns. These are capacity investments and, with our margins, of course you see also then the high returns on these investments.
The share buyback program will still leave room to deleverage. And we expect at the end of the year, I said 1.8, so we're probably going to deleverage down to 1.7. Do we have to reach exactly the 1.5? We always said around 1.5. So therefore that leaves us room in this regard, and it still leaves us room for bolt-on M&As, absolutely. That is important because that's our second capital allocation principle, and bolt-on here is basically in the volume of, what, 100 to 200 million—around there.
So that should give comfort basically into our capital allocation principles and also that we are true to what we said. Once we see that deleveraging and mentioned that we're coming now into this target corridor, we are then ramping up—and ramping up is also the key word here for the share buyback program. From today's perspective, it will definitely be more loaded towards the second half than the first half because there we still have the higher capex.
Esther Baiget, CEO
And on Microbiogen, do you want to comment there also?
Rainer, CFO
Right, Microbiogen. So on the financial impact here, basically it's a vertical integration at the end of the day on the biofuel side. We're acquiring great capabilities in that space, and it's going to be at the end of the day slightly accretive to the margin. And yes, full ownership. We're acquiring 77%, so we have then full ownership. We currently have 23%.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Yeah, of course, full ownership. But we said that. Right.
OPERATOR
Thank you. And the next question comes from Sebastian Brae from Berndijk. Please go ahead.
Sebastian Brae, Analyst
Hello, good morning, and thank you for taking my question. So I have two, please. The first is on the household care. A lot of the arguments for why the sales have grown so nicely are pretty similar to what they were in previous quarters—higher investment, better penetration—but the organic sales growth was not 12%. Could you talk about how the extent to which this could moderate, and if your assumption on what household care can grow at has changed as we move into '27?
And my second question is on HMOs. Can you give an idea of the size of this business these days? Is it still underneath 100 million euros of sales, and where the margin profile currently sits? Thank you.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Perfect. Thank you, Sebastian. I'll take the first one, and Rainer on HMOs. Household care: yes, 12% growth in the second quarter. Bear in mind also soft comparable in that quarter that were a driver of the higher comparable. Underlying, continuous, steady performance with the drivers that you mentioned—collecting the fruits of the investments in the past, collecting the fruits of innovation, responding to the consumer and customer needs, driving to productivity savings, but also driving to body grime removal, experience of freshness, quick and cold washes, and particularly growth in emerging geographies.
You remember last year we hired 400 people in commercial organizations, two-thirds of them in emerging geographies. They were not all in household care, but household care is benefiting also from that trend where we see the intimacy with the customers and tailor-made solutions. You just saw us also launching another medley, another blend formulated answer. We don't sell individual enzymes; we sell cocktails—we call them cocktails—blends of solutions to our customers, fulfilling their needs, dropping solutions to give that excellent performance for the detergents that they produce.
And we continue to see penetration in domestic markets and in emerging markets here. Sorry.
Sebastian Brae, Analyst
Thank you.
Rainer, CFO
So HMO basically, from the overall share of Human Health, is actually 10%—around there. And to the margin profile, as we pointed out in the past, it is still dilutive to the group margin. We'll see that improving once we really scale up. The nice thing is we see also good growth momentum, and going forward, of course, with economies of scale, we will get this up to the level of the group margin.
OPERATOR
Thank you. Then the next question comes from Lars Topholm from DNB Carnegie. Please go ahead.
Lars Topholm, Analyst at DNB Carnegie
Yes, congrats with an impressive quarter. Two questions from me also. The first one goes to the strong growth in Food and Beverage and the soft growth in Human Health. I just wonder if there's any cannibalization effect in here—that maybe if people buy more yogurt containing probiotics, they buy less dietary supplements containing the same source. I wonder if it's something you see and, if it is, if this is something you can try to maybe put a number on.
And then the second question for you, Rainer, just goes to the tariff refunds. I just wonder, I mean, there's an in and there's an out. Why does it negatively affect organic growth? And how do you account for this from an EBITDA perspective? Is there any effect? Thanks.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you, Lars, also for your kind words. We continue with the tempo. I take the first one; Rainer, you take the second one. So on Food and Health, really good performance: 9% year to date, 9% in Q2. You pointed to an isolated case. We see punctual also in North America, dietary supplements—important to mention. The trend of health has never been that strong. We see that, yes, in more probiotics in dairy, but we for sure continue to see that in dietary supplements.
And holistically, in Human Health we see growth—with the exception of dietary supplements in North America, we see growth across all the areas. Even within North America, we see growth in the practitioner channel value chain, which is more stable and resilient. We continue to see the pull on HMO, where we're growing across the regions. Also in China—cross-border—but we're growing. We continue to see the pull of infant formula, where that trend of health and available nutrition continues to be stronger.
We are also very pleased with the quality and the caliber of our innovation pipeline. We have a product or a new project we launched a few months ago with Novo Nordisk, where we are starting to evaluate and doing trials in the second half with patients taking GLP-1 and evaluating the power or the impact of the symbiotic effect of prebiotics and probiotics, and hence us as a driver of a stronger and better quality life. So trend of health continues to be strong.
We see it across all areas. Punctual effect, isolated, in the North America dietary supplements market, but strong pipeline, strong pull across all the areas, and we continue to be very comfortable about the long-term growth.
Rainer, CFO
Yes. And last, regarding the tariff refunds, you're absolutely right, it's an in and out. It's just that the out is in a different position than the in. So therefore, basically we have the... Basically, a credit note affects the sales number. Therefore, we see here an impact on organic sales growth. But the in is on the expense side. So to your second question then regarding EBITDA: the impact on the EBITDA is neutral. So there's no impact on the absolute number of the EBITDA in this regard.
Yes, that's correct.
OPERATOR
Thank you so much. Then the next question comes from Chetan Udeshi from JPMorgan. Please go ahead.
Chetan Udeshi, Analyst at JPMorgan
Yeah, hi, thanks for taking my questions. My first question is a bit weird one and maybe this is for Esther. And, you know, when I speak to some investors, some potential investors, the impression I get is Novozymes is doing so well that people are worried that this is not sustainable. It's just too good to be true. And frankly, look at your Q2 numbers, 9% organic growth, I don't think anybody can debate that it's not good. I guess the question I have is how would you address that concern of growth being too good to be true?
I mean, you mentioned new products. I look at your opex, which is up almost high single-digit organic, your capex is very, very strong. So it feels like underlying there's huge amount of investment going on and yet people tend to fear that your growth is too good to be true. How do you… or how… I mean, I don't know if any… I don't think it's an easy thing to do. But if you were to maybe give some more fillers to the market in terms of getting comfort around the sustainability of growth, not just for Q3, but maybe in terms of next three, four years, I think that would be quite useful.
And the second question: just I was looking at your cash flow statement. There is a decent step-up in intangible asset spend. And I'm just curious, is this the ERP spend or are you capitalizing more R&D this year?
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you very much, Chetan. Excellent questions. Short answer: it is true. It is good and it is true. Long answer, let me give it a try here. BioSolutions are the building block of how the world will produce and consume in the future. We are changing the way that foods will be produced, the goods that we will consume, and we are the company that is best equipped to capitalize on that trend. The pull is absolutely clear. That is, we do two things: we do more with less.
We bring productivity, efficiency, cost gains for our customers, and we bring differentiated claims, something that makes our customers be able to capitalize on stronger momentum and grow faster. We bring healthier nutrients, we do clean label, we enable high protein, we enable replacing chemicals. It's the combination of higher productivity, higher yields, higher efficiencies, and differentiated claims, responding to a strong pull in the market with a growing population that has the need exactly of what we're talking about.
So the what is that the pull is there. Then the other question that you make so nicely is why us? Why are we going to win? Well, because we are the leading player in BioSolutions. We invest 10% of revenue in R&D, we have a global market reach, we have deep customer intimacy. We connect those needs into answers and, more importantly, we bring them to scale competitively and reliably for our customers. And we're investing. So that's why we're delivering and why it's going to be sustainable: because we continue to invest, to continue to be closer to our customers, to continue to innovate, and continue to be able to supply.
The best thing I can do: continue to deliver, continue to show you it's true, continue to make that trend and make it obvious for everybody.
Rainer, CFO
And Chetan, regarding your cash flow question, you're spot on. The increase in intangibles is related to our ERP journey, so the S/4 journey that we're having. Keep in mind, we do not capitalize R&D. So it's really driven by the capitalization of the S/4-related expenses.
OPERATOR
Thank you very much. The next question comes from Soren Samse from SEB. Please go ahead.
Soren Samse, Analyst at SEB
Yes, good morning everyone, and congrats on the impressive result. So, two questions. First on Household Care, very high growth. Just wondered if there's any sort of extraordinary in the growth — is there a customer doing an inventory build ahead of a new product launch, anything similar to that? And also, if you could comment, besides emerging market pulling, is there any impact from maybe private label in the US using more enzymes? Is there any impact from higher oil prices yet, or is that still too early?
That's my first question.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Excellent. So we'll answer this question and then we'll wait for the second one. The main driver of the 12% growth — it was softer comparables, or that was a strong driver of the 12%. Then, all the drivers that you commented: yes, penetration. Penetration is not only in emerging geographies, it's also in domestic markets where we see continuous pull and the beauty of reaching and bringing a stronger penetration of enzymes across the globe for detergents.
Too early to see impact on the trends that we're seeing, not only on oil prices but also on accessibility and reliability of supply of raw materials. But if I would say something, it is: we see increased momentum, we see good dialogue with our customers — too early to be translated and to see it reflected in the sales. It takes time to move from those dialogues into answers. The drivers of the growth today are innovation of the past, investments we've made in more boots on the ground, both in domestic markets, but also in the US, where we continue to see the pull of private label, together growing with our customers around the globe.
Soren Samse, Analyst at SEB
Okay, then, on the DSM Feed alliance, it looks like the run rate is getting close to what you said when you made the acquisition. But when I do the backwards calculation, it looks like you're still somewhat behind delivering those 3% of revenue and EBITDA of 70 million euros. But you are getting closer. But maybe you could just tell us sort of how close you are and how it's going with that acquisition? Thank you.
Rainer, CFO
So we basically said initially when we acquired the Feed Enzyme alliance, it's close to 3 percentage points contribution, and we are actually there. So that is, I would still consider it, as in line. Therefore the overall animal business is doing really, really well. And the EBITDA contribution also that we actually set out, which was important — that one we also fulfilled. You really see that in the accretion and our margin also on the division.
So we are overall — and as Esther pointed out also in the beginning opening comments — the commitments that we put out there at the beginning we fulfilled basically now after 12 years — and of course we continue to then… 12 months, sorry, not 12 years — feels longer, and therefore we expect that we consider this in…
Esther Baiget, CEO
…expectations, and the pipeline is very strong. There is only one little thing I would add: the momentum and the conversations with our customers is really, really strong, and we do see the penetration in areas where we were not relevant starting to crystallize nicely, but also with a good pipeline in place.
OPERATOR
Okay, thanks for the answers. And the next question comes from Matthew Yates from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Matthew Yates, Analyst at Bank of America
Hey, good morning everyone. Just had a couple of questions around capex please. Rainer, did I hear earlier in the call you spoke about potentially initiating a large new-build plant somewhere — I think you might have said in emerging markets? Just in terms of calibrating expectations for capex next year, is it still another year of capex probably above 10% of sales? And then just more shorter term: if I'm not mistaken, you’ve got a big investment that's been going on in Wisconsin.
I think that was supposed to come online mid or late '26. I guess my question is, clearly the growth you've been delivering in Food & Beverage is very, very impressive. I'm wondering to what extent you're delivering that growth despite being capacity constrained in any way. So the extent to which you can bring on more capacity over the coming months, does that actually give reason to believe that growth could accelerate, or do I need to be a bit more prudent on the speed at which you can ramp up new plants?
Thank you.
Rainer, CFO
So regarding the capex overall, it's absolutely correct, and actually I flagged that before. Right. We said this year 12% to 14%, and also said that next year we expect basically nominally the same kind of value in this regard. So therefore this is the temporarily elevated part before we then go down to the high single digit in 2030. And in that, there are of course all these expansions that I mentioned included, right? Also the basically bigger multipurpose facility in the emerging markets — that of course takes several years to build and then to be commissioned.
So that is basically in line with also the long-term guidance that we gave. When it comes to the short term, absolutely correct: we made the investment in West Allis, it's coming online — basically I would even say a little bit ahead of time, which is great. That is happening as we speak, the first batches being produced. But I want to make sure we are really not constrained on capacity here. Right. We're timing that fortunately nicely and able to really use the assets around the world in order to satisfy any kind of growth peaks that we have in the different markets.
So all in line with our expectations and, yeah, looking forward to West Allis then fully being commercialized.
Esther Baiget, CEO
One last question, operator, please.
OPERATOR
Yes. Then today's last question comes from Andre Thorman from Danske Bank. Please go ahead.
Andre Thorman, Analyst at Danske Bank
Thanks a lot for taking my questions. First of all, can you maybe put a bit more color on what you're seeing in the second half of Human Health, which I understand would be weak? And then second of all, if you can also add some color on when you plan to insource HMO fully in this Thailand factory. Thank you.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Thank you, Andre. We are, as described, expecting only a small growth in Human Health. That means that we're not forecasting or not reading the market — as the particular situation in North America — moving into an improvement. That's punctual; it could change. And if it happens, I can guarantee you we will capitalize on that momentum. But at this moment what we are seeing is we're not forecasting changes in North America: caution of the consumers from a dietary supplements point of view.
And what we're seeing in the second half in Human Health is continued pull of our solutions across the globe, continuous good momentum also in the dietary supplements in North America practitioner channel, and a continued growth on HMO and on infant formula. Those are the drivers that we see as growth. Then on HMO: we are producing it today internally, as you well know. Pylon is an acquisition that we made that brings small capabilities to produce HMO.
And with this we're setting the foundation for the future. Rainer indicated that it's at the expense of profitability, but it's also coming with a diligent mindset from a capital allocation. And now we will invest and build a plan accordingly, and put us in a position to continue to support our customers and then expand, lead to a better place from a profitability point of view.
Andre Thorman, Analyst at Danske Bank
Thank you so much.
Esther Baiget, CEO
Most welcome. So with that we're finalizing the call. Thank you all very much for your questions. Looking forward to the dialogue with many of you, also with the rest of the team in sessions for the rest of the week. Thank you.
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