German food manufacturer Südzucker has recorded sales of €3,493 million in the first half of its financial year, representing an increase of 9% compared to the previous year.
It says that its sugar and crop energies segments were the main contributors to this revenue growth, while the special products segment saw moderate growth, and the fruit segment was around the same as last year.
The group's operating profit was up by €73 million, increasing to a total of €282 million.
Sugar Performance
Sugar was the main driver of growth for Südzucker, with revenues climbing to €1,516 million, up from €1,382 million in the same period last year.
The company says that declining volume in the EU was more than offset by higher export volumes, and the fiscal results were impacted by improving quota sugar sales revenues since October 2016 and higher non-quota sugar sales revenues than last year during the reporting period.
Südzucker has expanded its beet cultivation area by about 15%, which, combined with favourable beet growth, will enable the group's factories to exceed processing targets and reduce production costs.
The company now expects to produce over five million tonnes of sugar from beets.
Outlook
Südzucker says that it continues to expect consolidated group revenues of €6.7 to €7 billion for fiscal 2017/18, driven by growth in the sugar, special products and fruit segments.
The company is also expecting operating results to rise further, driven by the sugar segment, however, after a record year in 2016/2017, it expects a significant retreat for the special products segment.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
