We recently hosted investor meetings with Novonesis management in London following Q2 results. In attendance were Ester Baiget (CEO), Rainer Lehmann (CFO), Jacob Vishof Paulsen (EVP Food and Beverage Biosolutions), Amy Byrick (EVP Human Health Biosolutions) and the IR team. Merger integration progressing well, prioritisation in focus Management is pleased with progress on the integration; employee engagement levels remain high and involuntary workforce attrition is low. The company still expects margin expansion in H2 and 2025 (reiterating the target for ~37% EBITDA margins in 2025) driven by cost synergies and lower inputs. Looking ahead, Novonesis will balance near term profitability with investment for the long term and is currently running a strategic review to identify priority investment areas. Unrivalled expertise in biosolutions, revenue synergies key to driving growth acceleration Management expects revenue synergies to contribute from 2025, with an early pull from customers in areas such as food and bev (cheese, plant based) and human health. The revenue synergy ramp up will be key to accelerating growth beyond its existing mid-term target of 6-8% which offers limited upside vs the growth targets of the two legacy businesses. Management remains confident in its innovation pipeline, including in alternative proteins despite the recent delay with its anchor customer. Whilst we believe the merger creates a player with unrivalled biosolutions expertise, we think that meaningful revenue synergies will be long dated given the limited end market overlap and the long innovation timelines (and oftentimes regulatory hurdles) in biosolutions. We have an Underperform rating, shares trading at a 20% premium to peers It is fair to say that Novonesis has progressed well on integration and near-term execution. However we remain cautious on the sustainability of longer term organic growth given its exposure to mature end markets and the long dated...