The Cereals & Ingredients Division is being discontinued due to a lack of critical size and scalability. Valuable product categories such as non-milk-based special spray products and dietary supplements will be integrated and continued in the Dairy Ingredients Division. The 90% stake in HOCHDORF South Africa Ltd was sold to African Chocolate Café Ltd as of 30 June 2019, resulting in a capital gain of CHF 0.45 million at EBIT level.

The Cereals & Ingredients Division achieved net sales revenue of CHF 10.6 million in the first half of 2019 (previous year CHF 16.3 million, –34.9%). The slump in sales is attributable to the discontinuation or reduction of the first unprofitable business activities and to lower product sales.

The Cereals & Ingredients Division of HOCHDORF Swiss Nutrition Ltd developed several new products in the first half of 2019. The vitamin D3 drops are one of the highlights. The market launch in the Swiss retail sector will take place this autumn. Other new product developments include tomatoes with cardamom and apples with cinnamon, ginger or cardamom. These were launched at the PLMA 2019 trade fair in Amsterdam (Private Label Trade Fair). At the same time, further progress is being made in streamlining the portfolio.

Marbacher Ölmühle GmbH was not able to maintain the growth of recent years. The focus on organic and speciality oils resulted in lower net sales revenue with an optimised gross margin of the remaining product portfolio. Overall the company remains on track. Zifru Trockenprodukte GmbH launched the first production of cheese snacks for the US market on behalf of Snapz Foods AG.

Value-added product categories from the Cereals & Ingredients Division such as non-milk-based special spray products and dietary supplements will be integrated and continued in the Dairy Ingredients Division. Strategic alternatives will be evaluated by the end of 2019 for the subsidiaries Marbacher Ölmühle GmbH, Snapz Foods AG as well as Zifru Trockenprodukte GmbH.