EQS-News: AGRANA has strong operating performance in first three quarters
EQS-News: AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): 9 Month
figures
AGRANA has strong operating performance in first three quarters
12.01.2023 / 07:30 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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AGRANA has strong operating performance in first three quarters
• Revenue growth of 26.4% to € 2,742.5 million
• Strong operating profit of € 121.6 million before exceptional items
and results of equity-accounted joint ventures, an increase of 77.0%
• Impairment of goodwill and assets in Fruit segment in Q2 2022|23 leads
to reduction of 33.9% in Group EBIT to € 50.2 million
• Outlook: Reiterating the forecast for full year 2022|23, with very
significant increase in EBIT and significant growth both in “operating
profit before exceptional items and equity-accounted joint ventures”
and in revenue.
In the first three quarters of the 2022|23 financial year (the nine months
ended 30 November 2022), AGRANA, the fruit, starch and sugar group,
recorded revenue of € 2,742.5 million, an increase of 26.4% compared to
the year-earlier period (Q1-Q3 prior year: € 2,169.6 million). An even
more powerful gain was the 77.0% rise in “operating profit before
exceptional items and equity-accounted joint ventures” to € 121.6 million
(Q1-Q3 prior year: € 68.7 million).
AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Markus Mühleisen comments: “A key driver of
the earnings improvement was the Sugar segment’s turnaround in this
financial year. In addition to benefiting from the improved sales price
environment in this business, we are reaping rewards of the efficiency
measures taken in in recent years and of our rigorous cost management. Our
strong performance in the first nine months was also helped by the high
bioethanol quotations in the first half of the year and by good results in
the wheat gluten business. Once again, our diversified, sustainable
business model proves a stabilising influence in turbulent times.”
Results in each business segment
FRUIT segment
Fruit segment revenue in the first three quarters grew to € 1,094.9
million, a significant increase of 16.6%. On the fruit preparations side,
revenue rose for price reasons, while the increase in fruit juice
concentrate revenue was additionally driven by volume. Due to an
impairment charge taken in the second quarter, the Fruit segment had an
EBIT loss of € 51.6 million in the first three quarters, a very
significant difference from the year-ago profit. The impairment test for
the Fruit cash-generating unit was triggered back at the half-year
reporting date by the continuing war in Ukraine, by the upheaval in energy
and commodity markets and particularly by rapidly rising capital costs.
In the fruit juice concentrate business, earnings rose very significantly
thanks to improved contribution margins for apple juice concentrate from
the 2021 and 2022 harvests. Better contribution margins from berry juice
concentrates and natural aromas also contributed to the EBIT growth.
STARCH segment
Revenue in the Starch segment in the first three quarters expanded to
€ 987.8 million, a significant increase of 33.9%. With demand subdued
compared to the previous year, the extreme increases in raw material and
energy prices led to markedly higher manufacturing costs, which AGRANA was
partly able to pass on in sales prices. A major driver of the revenue
growth in the first nine months was the climb in ethanol prices compared
to the same period last year. The Starch segment’s EBIT of € 67.1 million
was up significantly year-on-year, with the wheat gluten business
performing very well.
This financial year’s volatility in ethanol markets is extreme. After
quoting at over € 1,300 per cubic metre in the first half of 2022|23,
ethanol prices have fallen sharply since the end of the summer and were
only between € 700 and € 800 per cubic metre in November 2022.
SUGAR segment
The Sugar segment’s revenue in the first three quarters was € 659.8
million, up 33.9% from one year earlier. Both higher sugar selling prices
and increased sugar sales volumes led to this growth. Sugar EBIT of € 34.7
million marked a pronounced improvement from the double-digit loss of the
year-earlier period. This very positive trajectory was attributable to
significantly improved margins thanks to the favourable sales price
environment and disciplined cost management. Given the upward trend in
sugar prices, AGRANA expects beet prices to be attractive to farmers in
the next crop year as well.
The detailed financial results are provided in the interim statement for
the first three quarters of 2022|23 : [1]LINK
Outlook
For the full 2022|23 financial year, AGRANA continues to expect a very
significant increase in operating profit (EBIT), in other words, a rise of
at least 50%. As well, both the Group’s “operating profit before
exceptional items and results of equity-accounted joint ventures” and
revenue are projected to show significant growth, i.e., an increase of
between 10% and 50%.
Total investment across the three business segments in the 2022|23
financial year, at approximately € 111 million, is expected to exceed the
2021|22 level, but to come in below this year’s budgeted depreciation of
about € 120 million.
“A substantial share of our future investment will be in further measures
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. AGRANA is committed to a concrete plan
to make its production CO[2]-neutral by 2040 and also to reduce to net
zero its emissions in the upstream and downstream value chain by 2050 at
the latest, from primary agricultural production all the way to the
transport of products to our customers,” says CEO Mühleisen. AGRANA’s
sustainability strategy includes ongoing energy efficiency measures for a
complete transition to renewable energy in production and, from 2025,
recovering energy from low-protein raw material residues as a substitute
for fossil fuels.
About AGRANA
AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and
numerous industrial intermediate products. About 9,000 employees at 55
production sites worldwide generate annual Group revenue of approximately
€ 3 billion. Established in 1988, the company is the world market leader
in fruit preparations and the foremost producer of fruit juice
concentrates in Europe. As well, its Starch segment is a major
manufacturer of custom starch products (made from potato, corn and wheat)
and of bioethanol. AGRANA is the leading sugar producer in Central and
Eastern Europe.
For queries, please contact:
Markus Simak
Public Relations
+43 1 21137 12084
[2]markus.simak@agrana.com
Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
+43 1 21137 12905
[3]hannes.haider@agrana.com
This announcement is available at [4] https://www.agrana.com/.
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12.01.2023 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by EQS Group AG.
www.eqs.com
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Language: English
Company: AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft
F.-W.-Raiffeisen-Platz 1
A-1020 Wien
Austria
Phone: +43-1-21137-0
Fax: +43-1-21137-12926
E-mail: investor.relations@agrana.com
Internet: www.agrana.com
ISIN: AT000AGRANA3
WKN: A2NB37
Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; Vienna Stock Exchange
(Official Market)
EQS News ID: 1533157
End of News EQS News Service
1533157 12.01.2023 CET/CEST
References
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2. markus.simak@agrana.com
3. hannes.haider@agrana.com
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