EQS-News: With solid business performance in first nine months, AGRANA remains on track to achieve significant EBIT growth for full financial year

EQS-News: AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): 9 Month
figures
With solid business performance in first nine months, AGRANA remains on
track to achieve significant EBIT growth for full financial year

13.01.2022 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Results for the first three quarters of 2021|22 (ended 30 November 2021)

With solid business performance in first nine months, AGRANA remains on
track to achieve significant EBIT growth for full financial year

First three quarters of 2021|22 at a glance

– Revenue: € 2,169.6 million (+10.4%; Q1-Q3 prior year: € 1,965.3 million)

– EBIT: € 76.0 million (-9.8%; Q1-Q3 prior year: € 84.3 million)

– EBIT margin: 3.5% (Q1-Q3 prior year: 4.3%)

– Profit for the period: € 44.8 million (-16.7%; Q1-Q3 prior year: € 53.8
million)

– Equity ratio: 50.0% (28 February 2021: 53.8%)

Outlook for full year 2021|22

– Forecast for full 2021|22 financial year is reaffirmed, with significant
EBIT increase and moderate growth in revenue year-on-year

In the first three quarters of the 2021|22 financial year (the nine months
ended 30 November 2021), AGRANA, the fruit, starch and sugar company,
generated an operating profit (EBIT) of € 76.0 million (Q1-Q3 prior year:
€ 84.3 million). Revenue was € 2,169.6 million (Q1-Q3 prior year: €
1,965.3 million).

AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Markus Mühleisen says: „Since the beginning
of the financial year we have been forecasting that, after a weaker first
six months of 2021|22, earnings in the second half of the year would be
better than one year earlier. This outlook was confirmed in the third
quarter with quarterly EBIT of € 31.2 million (Q3 prior year: € 28.5
million). Following this positive trend in Q3, we also expect a very
significant year-on-year improvement in EBIT in the fourth quarter. We
therefore remain optimistic that, for the full financial year, we will
exceed the prior year’s EBIT significantly, i.e., by at least 10%. Getting
there has, however, become much more difficult in the past few months amid
a very strong rise in raw material and energy prices.“

Results in each business segment

FRUIT segment

Fruit segment revenue in the first three quarters grew to € 939.1 million,
a moderate increase of 5.3%. The fruit preparations business saw revenue
growth stemming mostly from higher sales prices. Revenue in the fruit
juice concentrate activities declined slightly for volume reasons. Segment
EBIT in the first nine months was € 36.2 million, off 12.3% from one year
earlier. The principal reason for the deterioration lay in weaker sales of
fruit juice concentrates from the 2020 crop, which were marked by reduced
delivery volumes in combination with lower contribution margins of apple
juice concentrates in the first half of 2021|22.

STARCH segment

Revenue in the Starch segment in the first three quarters of 2021|22 was €
737.8 million, or a significant 18.8% more than a year ago. Higher volumes
of core products and by-products were demanded than in the same period of
the prior year. In the ethanol business, Platts quotations reached
historic highs in the third quarter and averaged 24% stronger in the first
three quarters of 2021|22 than in the prior-year comparable period.
Segment EBIT in the first nine months, at € 53.5 million, eased by 8.5%
from the year-earlier level. The main reason was a significant
year-on-year increase in prices for raw materials (wheat and corn/maize)
and energy, which could not yet be fully offset by adjusting product
prices.
 

SUGAR segment

The Sugar segment’s revenue in the first three quarters of 2021|22 grew to
€ 492.7 million, up 8.8% from one year earlier. In addition to renewed
high sales volumes with resellers, there was also a recovery in the
industrial customer segment, where more sugar was sold than in the same
period last year. While the EBIT result in the first three quarters of
2021|22 was better than in the year-ago period, it remained negative at
the nine-month mark, at a deficit of € 13.7 million. This still reflected
the fact that AGRANA’s own sugar production had been below average after
the pest-related small 2020 harvest, with a resulting lower margin from
the necessary compensatory reselling and refining of sugar.

The detailed financial results are provided in the interim statement for
the first three quarters of 2021|22 –> [1]LINK

Outlook
For the full 2021|22 financial year, AGRANA continues to expect
significant growth in Group EBIT, in other words, an EBIT increase of at
least 10%. Group revenue is projected to show moderate growth. It should
be noted, however, that due to the extreme volatility in commodity and
energy prices and a once again more acute COVID-19 situation – the fourth
wave in combination with the advent of the new Omicron variant – the
forecast for the full year is subject to a very high degree of
uncertainty.

In the 2021|22 financial year, the AGRANA Group is investing € 92 million,
an amount significantly less than the budgeted depreciation of about € 120
million.

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
€ 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 at [2]https://www.agrana.com/.

For queries, please contact

Markus Simak
Public Relations
+43 1 21137 12084
[3]markus.simak@agrana.com
  

Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
+43 1 21137 12905
[4]hannes.haider@agrana.com
 

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13.01.2022 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: 1266162

 
End of News EQS News Service

1266162  13.01.2022 

References

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3. markus.simak@agrana.com
4. hannes.haider@agrana.com

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