EANS-News: AGRANA reaffirms positive outlook for 2021|22 financial year
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Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide
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EBIT decrease in first quarter of 2021|22
Quarterly Report
Vienna - Financial first quarter of 2021|22 at a glance
- Revenue: EUR 705.8 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 652.6 million)
- EBIT: EUR 20.9 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 32.0 million)
- EBIT margin: 3.0% (Q1 prior year: 4.9%)
- Profit for the period: EUR 12.1 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 19.2 million)
- Equity ratio: 54.5% (28 February 2021: 53.8%)
- Forecast for the full 2021|22 financial year: significant EBIT growth and
moderate rise in revenue
In the first quarter of the 2021|22 financial year (the three months ended 31
May 2021), AGRANA, the fruit, starch and sugar company, saw a reduction in
operating profit (EBIT) from EUR 32.0 million to EUR 20.9 million. The Group's
sales rose slightly to EUR 705.8 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 652.6 million).
AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Markus Mühleisen says: "AGRANA's first quarter of
2021|22 marked a more subdued start to the new financial year than one year
earlier. The key reasons for this were declining earnings in the Starch segment
due to higher raw material costs, and lower sales volumes in the Sugar segment.
The performance of the Fruit segment in the first quarter was stable. Although
this new financial year too is characterised by pandemic-driven high volatility
and the Covid-19 crisis is not over yet, we expect the full year 2021|22 to
bring significant earnings growth from 2020|21. Contributing factors should be a
recovery in the Fruit segment's fruit juice concentrate business with the start
of the 2021 apple campaign, improved market demand in the Starch segment and
rising sugar prices in the Sugar segment."
Results in each business segment for the first quarter of 2021|22
FRUIT segment
Revenue in the Fruit segment, at EUR 320.7 million, was moderately higher than
one year earlier. The revenue growth in the fruit preparations business stemmed
largely from higher sales volumes. Revenue in the fruit juice concentrate
activities saw a slight, price-related decline. EBIT in the Fruit segment as a
whole was EUR 15.9 million, and thus steady year-on-year. In fruit preparations,
EBIT earnings were up significantly from the year-earlier value, thanks
primarily to a positive business performance in the Europe and Russia regions.
Contrasting with this, an earnings deterioration in the fruit juice concentrate
business resulted from lower delivery volumes in combination with lower
contribution margins for apple juice concentrates made from the 2020 crop.
STARCH segment
Revenue in the Starch segment rose significantly compared to the first quarter
of the prior year, to EUR 234.6 million. One year after the onset of the Covid-
19 pandemic, signs of recovery were visible in the starch markets. Higher core
product and by-product volumes were demanded than in the same period of the
previous year. At the same time, the selling prices of most core products
remained at the low general level of the prior year. Ethanol prices recovered
due to increased petrol demand and averaged EUR 587 per cubic metre, or EUR 95
more than in the 2020|21 comparative period. EBIT amounted to EUR 11.5 million
in the first quarter and was thus significantly lower than one year earlier,
owing mainly to sharply higher grain prices for the 2020 harvest.
SUGAR segment
The Sugar segment's revenue of EUR 150.5 million in the first quarter was up
slightly from one year before. The increase was driven by higher sales of beet
seed and other agri-products. The EBIT result fell significantly from the year-
ago quarter to a deficit of EUR 6.5 million. This was attributable to
significantly lower sugar sales volumes than in the first quarter of the prior
year, when purchases in the reseller sector amid Covid-19 had been higher than
average as consumers stocked up in anticipation of shortages. In the 2020 sugar
campaign last year, AGRANA's own production was again below average due to pest
damage, especially in Austria. The resulting lower margin from the necessary
compensatory reselling and refining of sugar was another key reason for the
weaker Sugar EBIT performance in the first quarter of this financial year.
The detailed financial results are provided in the interim statement for the
first quarter of 2021|22 at https://www.agrana.com/en/investor/ [https://
www.agrana.com/en/investor/].
Outlook
Despite the continuing substantial challenges resulting from the Covid-19
pandemic, the AGRANA Group expects its EBIT to rise significantly in the 2021|22
financial year. Group revenue is projected to show moderate growth.
Total investment across the Group this year, at approximately EUR 90 million, is
to exceed the 2020|21 level, while being significantly below this year's
budgeted depreciation of about EUR 121 million.
About AGRANA
AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous
industrial intermediate products. About 9,000 employees at 56 production sites
worldwide generate annual Group revenue of approximately EUR 2.5 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.
This announcement is available in German and English at www.agrana.com [https://
www.agrana.com/en].
Further inquiry note:
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
Mag.(FH) Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12905
e-mail:hannes.haider@agrana.com
Mag.(FH) Markus Simak
Public Relations
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12084
e-mail: markus.simak@agrana.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
F.-W.-Raiffeisen-Platz 1
A-1020 Wien
phone: +43-1-21137-0
FAX: +43-1-21137-12926
mail: info.ab@agrana.com
WWW: www.agrana.com
ISIN: AT000AGRANA3
indexes: WBI
stockmarkets: Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Wien
language: English