Savencia SA announced group earnings results for the half year ended June 2017. For the period, the company reported net sales of EUR 2,356 million compared to EUR 2,092 million a year ago. Current operating profit was EUR 104 million compared to EUR 86 million a year ago. Group share of net income was EUR 62 million compared to EUR 31 million a year ago. Net debt was EUR 413 million compared to EUR 408 million a year ago. Savencia Fromage & Dairy's net sales increased by 12.6% with organic growth of 12.1% in pursuance of the trend observed during the second half of 2016. The positive foreign exchange impact of 0.5% was mainly related to the gain in value of the Brazilian real and US dollar in comparison with the euro. The evolution of the Group's current operating profit for the first half of 2017 mainly reflected the increased selling prices for industrial products.

The group's current operating profit for the second half of 2017 should be negatively impacted by: A significant increase in the cost of milk and in the world prices for butterfat given the scarcity of butter in the European and world markets; The timing gap between raw material cost increases and their necessary repercussion on price lists; The fall in world prices for dairy proteins observed during the summer as a result of the importance of the available world inventories; The rising value of the euro.