The Swedish consumer packaged goods (FMCG) company Humble Group has expanded its sports nutrition offering with the acquisition of the Australian company Body Science International.
Body Science, which has its headquarters in Burleigh Heads in the Australian state of Queensland, is the latest merger and acquisition deal to be completed in the industry by Stockholm-listed Humble. This past year, Humble purchased Swecarb of Sweden, which is the provider of the Vitargo sports-nutrition brand.
Past partnerships have included ones with companies like Performance R Us, Nordic Sports Nutrition, and Viterna, all of which offer branded items to retailers in the Nordic region.
The acquisition of Humble by Body Science represents Humble’s entry into a new market. CEO Simon Petrén referred to this move as a “strategic step.”
Body Science has a revenue of 284 million Swedish Krona (about US$26.9 million) and profits based on an EBITDA of 53 million Swedish Krona. The company manufactures its own brand of protein and creatine powders, some of which are vegan-friendly. Additionally, the company produces protein bars and mousse snack bars, all of which may be purchased directly from the company or via independent merchants.
The terms of the financial transaction were not made public, and the closing of the purchase is anticipated to take place within the next sixty days.
“Body Science is a prominent player in nutrition in the Australian market and is actively working to develop, market, and sell leading products based on high-quality ingredients,” Petrén, who has also struck deals in snacks and confectionery, cosmetics, and beauty products, said. “Body Science is a prominent player in nutrition in the Australian market.”
“Not only will we be increasing the number of products we offer as a result of the acquisition, but we will also be taking a calculated step into a new geographical market. This will provide us with additional distribution opportunities to stores that provide nationwide coverage as well as new sales channels for online purchases.”
Body Science was started by Greg Young and Nathan Picklum, who is also the company’s managing directors and co-founders.
They went on to say that as a result of the acquisition, Body Science will continue to expand and would eventually become a global brand in the sports business owned by the Humble Group. We are quite happy about the announcement that was made today because it marks the beginning of the next phase for a famous Australian firm.
On the Stockholm stock exchange, Humble’s shares have dropped 45% so far this year and are down 34% from a year ago. At approximately 1:10 p.m. local time today, the share price was 15.04 SEK (15 July).
Humble Group announced total revenues of SEK1.5 billion for the calendar year through December, which represents an organic rise of 28% over the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 9%, coming in at SEK228 million, while EBITDA decreased by 25%, coming in at SEK162 million. Earnings per share were reduced by 42%, coming in at 1.38 SEK.
On a pro forma basis, sales came in at 3.7 billion Swedish Krona, with an adjusted EBITDA of 493.3 million and an EBITDA of 370 million.
The company’s reported sales for the first three months of this year increased to SEK879 million from SEK88 million, and its adjusted EBITDA increased to SEK102 million from SEK7 million in the same period of the previous year. The EPS came in at a loss of SEK0.82 per share.
