Europe's largest sugar refiner, Südzucker AG, has generated consolidated group revenues of €1.74 billion in the first quarter of its current fiscal year. Last year, the company's revenues amounted to €1.78 billion.
The company said that its sugar and CropEnergies segments’ revenues fell sharply, whereas the special products segment rose substantially. The fruit segment’s revenue was slightly higher.
As anticipated, the consolidated group operating profit dropped significantly to €78 million, just over half the profit of €153 million recorded in the same period last year.
This decline was driven mainly by the predicted significantly weaker sugar segment growth.
Mixed Bag For Special Products
The group's special products segment was able to increase revenues to €558 million, up from €481 million last year.
This growth was primarily due to revenue contributions from frozen pizza producers Richelieu Foods Inc. and HASA GmbH, which did not occur last year.
However, operating profit at this division declined moderately from €41 million to €39 million.
This lower result was due to reduced sales revenues for ethanol and sweeteners in the starch division, in addition to higher fixed costs resulting from the capacity expansions at the Aschach corn starch factory over the course of the previous year.
Low Ethanol Prices Affect CropEnergies
The CropEnergies segment's revenues of €176 million were significantly below last year's €214 million.
The trend was driven by considerably reduced ethanol sales revenues, particularly in comparison to the comparatively high sales revenues generated during the first half of last year.
Positive Results In Fruit Segment
The fruit segment's revenues were almost the same as last year, coming in at €312 million as against previous year's €311 million.
Lower sales revenues for fruit preparations were offset by higher sales revenues in the fruit juice concentrates division, as well as higher volumes in the fruit preparations division.
The segment’s operating result climbed slightly to €26 million, driven by higher margins on sales revenues in the fruit juice concentrates division. In the fruit juice preparations division, higher volumes and lower raw material costs could not fully offset lower sales revenues.
Drop In Revenues Predicted
Consolidated group revenues for the current fiscal 2018/19 year are expected to come in at about €6.8 billion to €7.1 billion. The consolidated group operating result is expected to drop sharply, between €100 and 200 million.
The company said that its sugar segment’s revenues are expected to drop significantly and CropEnergies segment’s revenues are expected to range between €730 and 780 million. The special products segment’s revenues are expected to rise substantially and the fruit segment is also expected to increase moderately.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
