Glanbia half-year results 2026: EPS jumps 30% as outlook rises

Glanbia delivers a confident first half

Glanbia PLC has upgraded its full-year guidance after growth across all three business segments helped adjusted earnings per share rise by 30.0% at constant currency.

Revenue reached $2.1 billion during the six months to 4 July 2026, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, known as EBITDA, increased by 14.1% to $275.4 million.

The nutrition group now expects full-year adjusted EPS growth of 17% to 20% at constant currency. Its previous guidance was for performance at the upper end of a 7% to 11% range.

That is a substantial upgrade rather than a minor tweak. It reflects stronger expectations for Performance Nutrition, Health & Nutrition and Dairy Nutrition.

Investors can read the original company announcement for the complete financial statements and disclosures.

Glanbia half-year results at a glance

Metric	HY 2026	HY 2025	Change at constant currency
Revenue	$2,079.4 million	$1,926.7 million	7.0%
EBITDA	$275.4 million	$241.3 million	14.1%
EBITDA margin	13.2%	12.5%	80 basis points
Adjusted EPS	81.24 US cents	63.03 US cents	30.0%
Basic EPS	63.68 US cents	39.04 US cents	66.8%
Operating cash flow	$98.0 million	$45.4 million	115.9%
Free cash flow	$37.8 million	$(19.6) million	Improved
Interim dividend	18.92 euro cents	17.20 euro cents	10.0%

Like-for-like revenue, which strips out currency movements and the effect of acquisitions and disposals, increased by 10.7% across the wholly-owned businesses. Volumes rose by 8.2% and pricing added 2.5%.

This matters because growth was not solely driven by higher prices. Customers bought more product across each segment, pointing to healthy underlying demand.

Optimum Nutrition leads Performance Nutrition growth

Performance Nutrition generated revenue of $917.2 million and EBITDA of $115.2 million. Total constant-currency revenue rose by 6.7%, although this included a 10.2% reduction from disposals of non-core brands.

On a like-for-like basis, the picture was much stronger. Revenue increased by 16.9%, combining volume growth of 9.3% with pricing growth of 7.6%.

Optimum Nutrition, representing 79% of segment revenue, delivered like-for-like growth of 25.2%. The company attributed this to category growth, increased distribution, innovation and continued investment in the brand.

International Performance Nutrition was particularly strong, with like-for-like revenue up 29.6%. Glanbia highlighted distribution wins in the UK, Australia, India and China.

The main caveat is profitability. Performance Nutrition's EBITDA margin was 12.6%, broadly unchanged from 12.7% a year earlier. Elevated whey costs remain a headwind, although pricing, transformation savings and the disposal of non-core brands largely offset the pressure.

For investors, the encouraging point is that Glanbia protected the margin while delivering strong organic growth. However, continued price increases may become harder to sustain if consumer conditions weaken or competition intensifies.

Health & Nutrition volumes rise, but margins fall

Health & Nutrition revenue increased by 15.6% at constant currency to $368.5 million. Like-for-like growth was 12.0%, driven by a 14.3% increase in volume, partly offset by a 2.3% reduction in pricing.

Demand was strong across Active Nutrition, Functional Beverages and Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements, particularly in Europe and Asia. Glanbia also said the integration of Sweetmix and Scicore was progressing well.

EBITDA rose by 9.5% to $67.9 million, but the margin fell by 110 basis points to 18.4% because of higher raw material costs.

That margin decline is worth watching. Revenue and profit are moving in the right direction, but profit is growing more slowly than sales. Capacity expansion projects in the US, China and Europe remain on schedule, with total group capital expenditure expected to reach $100 million to $110 million in 2026.

Dairy Nutrition benefits from protein demand

Dairy Nutrition delivered the largest improvement in segment profitability. Revenue increased by 3.8% to $793.7 million, while EBITDA rose by 28.2% to $92.3 million.

Its EBITDA margin climbed from 9.5% to 11.6%, an increase of 220 basis points at constant currency.

Protein solutions achieved double-digit volume and pricing growth, supported by demand for high-protein ready-to-eat products and healthier snacks. The segment also benefited from elevated whey markets and improved product mix.

There is an interesting tension here. Higher whey markets benefit Dairy Nutrition, but elevated whey input costs create pressure within Performance Nutrition. Glanbia's ability to manage that balance across the group will remain important.

Cash flow improves as net debt rises

Operating cash flow more than doubled to $98.0 million, helped by higher profitability and a smaller working-capital outflow. Free cash flow improved from a $19.6 million outflow to a $37.8 million inflow.

Rolling 12-month operating cash conversion reached 95.1%, ahead of the group's target of more than 85%.

However, net debt increased to $730.5 million from $650.0 million at the previous half year. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA rose from 1.28 times to 1.41 times.

The increase reflects capital deployment as well as operating requirements. Glanbia paid dividends, invested in capacity and returned capital through share buybacks. Leverage remains within its financing covenants, and committed debt facilities stood at $1.35 billion.

Shareholders are receiving an interim dividend of 18.92 euro cents per share, up 10%. It is scheduled for payment on 2 October 2026 to shareholders on the register on 21 August 2026.

The company also completed its 2026 buyback authority, purchasing and cancelling approximately 4.9 million shares for around €100 million at an average price of €20.49.

Upgraded Glanbia outlook for 2026

Measure	New guidance	Previous guidance
Adjusted EPS growth	17% to 20%	Upper end of 7% to 11%
Performance Nutrition like-for-like revenue growth	12% to 14%	Upper end of 5% to 7%
Health & Nutrition like-for-like revenue growth	8% to 10%	Upper end of 4% to 6%
Dairy Nutrition EBITDA	$170 million to $180 million	$160 million to $170 million

Glanbia has also increased its annual transformation savings target from $60 million to $70 million by the 2027 financial year.

This could support future margins, but investors should distinguish recurring savings from the costs required to deliver them. The first half included a $14.1 million exceptional charge relating to the transformation programme, with total post-tax exceptional charges of $21.6 million.

What investors should watch in the second half

These results combine strong organic demand, faster earnings growth, improved cash flow and a meaningful guidance upgrade. Optimum Nutrition's momentum and Dairy Nutrition's margin expansion are the clearest positives.

The less comfortable areas are rising net debt, raw material inflation and the 110-basis-point margin decline in Health & Nutrition. Geopolitical instability, tariffs, supply-chain disruption and consumer spending pressure also remain risks identified by the company.

The upgraded outlook raises the delivery bar for the second half. The key tests will be whether Performance Nutrition can keep offsetting whey inflation, whether Health & Nutrition margins stabilise and whether cash generation limits further growth in leverage.