Lonza Releases First-Half 09 Financials

BASEL, Switzerland Lonza released financial results for the first half of 2009, reporting while sales, EBITDA and net profit were all down compared to 2008 numbers, it expects to rebound in the second half of the year due to new growth initiatives. The companys contract manufacturing business took the greatest hit; while sales were down in the Microbial and Performance Chemicals sectors of the Life Sciences division, sales in Agrochemicals and Nutrition helped compensate for the losses. Among the highlights in the Nutrition sector were increased sales of L-carnitine to the functional food and pet food markets; plant expansion for FiberAid and ResistAid production; and ongoing scale up of vitamin K3 production in Shawinigan, China.