Südzucker has posted consolidated group revenue of €1.71 billion in the third quarter of its financial year, to 30 November, roughly in line with the same period the previous year.
Consolidated group operating profits increased to €39 million for the period, however – up from a €23 million loss for the same period in 2019 – with 'significant earnings improvements' seen in the group's sugar, 'special products' and CropEnergies segments.
For the first nine months of the year, meanwhile, consolidated group revenues stood at €5.03 billion, down from €5.19 billion for the same period last year, while group operating profit was €113 million (down from €116 million).
Full-Year Outlook
Looking ahead to the full year, Südzucker said that it is expecting consolidated group revenues of between €6.7 billion and €7.0 billion (2018: €6.8 billion), with group operating profit set to be a lot higher than the previous year; between €70 million and €130 million.
It said that its core sugar segment is likely to continue to post an operating loss of between €200 million and €260 million (2018: €239 million).
However its special products segment, which includes both food and non-food applications, is likely to see a 'significant increase', while its CropEnergies segment is expected to see operating profits of around €100 million, up from €33 million last year.
The main reasons for this gain 'are continued significantly higher sales revenues for renewable ethanol', Südzucker said.
In its fruit segment, it expects to see a 'significant' earnings decline for the full year, it added.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
