Ingredion said Tuesday its annual sales should hit $8 billion by 2019, up from $6.33 billion last year, as the ingredients-maker pushes to notch more sales from fast-growing specialty products and international markets.
The announcement comes weeks after Ingredion, formerly known as Corn Products International, reduced its 2014 profit forecast, citing cost pressures in Argentina and the softer economy in Brazil. The bulk of Ingredion’s business is selling products such as starches and sweeteners to food companies. It also sells its products to companies that make items such as drinks, pharmaceuticals, animal feed and paper products.
Shares of Ingredion fell 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $81.34 after hitting a new high of $81.86 earlier in the day.
Ingredion said it expects specialty products to make up 27 to 30 percent of its sales by 2019, up from about 23 percent in 2014. Specialty products include products such as texturizers for food and sweeteners such as stevia. As part of its focus on specialty products, Ingredion last month announced plans to buy Penford, a maker of specialty starches, for about $340 million.
Specialty ingredients are growing at a faster pace than traditional products and carry higher margins than Ingredion’s core portfolio, CFO Jack Fortnum said in a statement.
Officials of Ingredion, which is based in Westchester, met with analysts Tuesday at the company’s innovation center in Bridgewater, N.J. They outlined plans to focus on four growth platforms for ingredients that are wholesome, provide texture, are focused on nutrition and on sweetness.
Ingredion said it expects 2 to 4 percent sales growth each year, with stronger growth coming from outside North America. Ingredion expects annual growth in North America of 1 to 3 percent, while growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region is likely to be as high as 6 to 8 percent. North America makes up about 54 percent of its sales now and should account for 50 percent of sales in five years, the company said.
Ingredion also said it expects some of the strongest growth in its food business, which accounts for 49 percent of sales and should rise to 52 percent of sales in five years. The company anticipates 3 to 5 percent annual sales growth in its food business, while sales of beverage products are expected to be flat to up 1 percent each year.
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