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AGRANA-EBIT up 26.6% year-on-year after three financial quarters --- EBIT rises in all segments

Дата: 12.01.2017

In the first three quarters of the 2016|17 financial year, AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG achieved year-on-year growth of 3.1% in Group revenue to € 1,967.5 million (Q1-Q3 prior year: € 1,908.0 million). Operating profit (EBIT) rose substantially to € 137.7 million, an increase of 26.6% from one year earlier. AGRANA CEO Johann Marihart is pleased with the interim results: "The AGRANA Group continued its positive trajectory of the current 2016|17 financial year and already surpassed the EBIT of the full year 2015|16 after the first three quarters. All three segments contributed to the significant earnings improvement. In the Sugar and Fruit segments, higher sales prices carried the good performance. In the Starch segment, productivity gains and larger sales volumes were beneficial for our margins.”

AGRANA consolidated financial results for the first three quarters of 2016|17
(1 March to 30 November 2016)
EUR million, except % 

 

Q1-3 2016|17

Q1-3 2015|16

Revenue

1,976.5

1,908.0

EBITDA*

183.9

154.1

Operating profit**

121.6

90.8

Share of results of equity-accounted joint ventures

23.7

19.7

Exceptional items

(7.6)

(1.7)

Operating profit (EBIT)

137.7

108.8

EBIT margin

7.0%

5.7%

Net financial items

(13.3)

(16.3)

Income tax

(29.2)

(21.6)

Profit for the period

95.2

70.8

Investment***

69.6

78.8

 

Q3 2016|17

Q3 2015|16

Revenue

647.2

644.5

EBITDA*

69.7

61.0

Operating profit**

43.3

32.8

Share of results of equity-accounted joint ventures

8.7

7.7

Exceptional items

(4.7)

(0.4)

Operating profit (EBIT)

47.3

40.1

EBIT margin

7.2%

6.2%

Net financial items

(3.0)

(5.1)

Income tax

(11.7)

(8.0)

Profit for the period

32.6

26.9

Investment***

27.2

38.0

 *EBITDA represents operating profit before exceptional items, results of equity-accounted joint ventures, depreciation and amortisation.´
**Before exceptional items and results of equity-accounted joint ventures
***Investment represents purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding goodwill.


Net financial items of the AGRANA Group in the first three quarters of 2016|17 amounted to a net expense of € 13.3 million (Q1-Q3 prior year: net expense of € 16.3 million); the improvement resulted primarily from net currency translation gains. After an income tax expense of € 29.2 million, corresponding to a tax rate of approximately 23.5% (Q1-Q3 prior year: 23.4%), profit for the period was € 95.2 million (Q1-Q3 prior year: € 70.8 million). Earnings per share attributable to AGRANA shareholders increased to € 6.29 (Q1-Q3 prior year: € 4.97).

Net debt at 30 November 2016 was € 382.0 million, or € 23.8 million less than the 2015|16 year-end level. The gearing ratio thus eased to 30.8% as of the quarterly balance sheet date (29 February 2016: 33.8%).

 

Results in the Sugar, Starch and Fruit segments 

Sugar segment

 

Q1-3 2016|17

Q1-3 2015|16

Revenue

532.5

540.5

Operating profit (EBIT)

23.1

10.4

EBIT margin

4.3%

1.9%

 

Q3 2016|17

Q3 2015|16

Revenue

180.5

195.5

Operating profit (EBIT)

4.8

4.0

EBIT margin

2.7%

2.0%

Sugar segment revenue in the first three quarters of 2016|17 declined slightly year-on-year, easing by 1.5% to € 532.5 million. Higher sugar sales prices were more than offset by lower sales volumes that resulted from the smaller-than-average beet crop of the prior year. The fact that EBIT more than doubled from one year earlier to € 23.1 million was due particularly to higher spot selling prices in Eastern Europe.

 

Starch segment

 

Q1-3 2016|17

Q1-3 2015|16

Revenue

551.9

544.0

Operating profit (EBIT)

58.0

52.9

EBIT margin

10.5%

9.7%

 

Q3 2016|17

Q3 2015|16

Revenue

188.8

191.3

Operating profit (EBIT)

26.0

21.8

EBIT margin

13.8%

11.4%

Revenue in the Starch segment in the first nine months of 2016|17 was € 551.9 million, or 1.5% above the year-ago value. Revenue growth was achieved as a result of increased production and higher sales volumes. EBIT of € 58.0 million surpassed the already good year-earlier result by 9.6%. This profit growth was made possible mainly by lower raw material costs for grains and by reduced energy costs.

 

Fruit segment

 

Q1-3 2016|17

Q1-3 2015|16

Revenue

883.1

823.5

Operating profit (EBIT)

56.6

45.5

EBIT margin

6.4%

5.5%

 

Q3 2016|17

Q3 2015|16

Revenue

277.9

257.7

Operating profit (EBIT)

16.5

14.3

EBIT margin

5.9%

5.5%

Fruit segment revenue in the first three quarters of 2016|17 expanded by 7.2% year-on-year to € 883.1 million. EBIT, at € 56.6 million, grew by 24.4% from the prior year's comparative period. The significant earnings improvement was driven both by the fruit juice concentrate business (due to higher prices for apple juice concentrates made from the 2015 crop) and by the fruit preparations activities (through growth in sales volumes).

  

Outlook
For the full 2016|17 financial year, AGRANA continues to expect a moderate increase in Group revenue and a significant improvement in EBIT. The Group's capital investment of € 126 million in 2016|17 will again be markedly higher than depreciation of about € 85 million.

 

About AGRANA
AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous industrial intermediate products. About 8,600 employees at more than 50 production sites worldwide generate annual Group sales of around € 2.5 billion. Established in 1988, the company today is the leading sugar producer in Central and Eastern Europe, and its Starch segment is a major European manufacturer of specialty products, as well as the largest producer of bioethanol in Austria. AGRANA is also the world market leader in fruit preparations and Europe's largest maker of fruit juice concentrates.

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