Ad-hoc | 1 September 2006 08:10

Südzucker AG: Suedzucker examines IPO for CropEnergies AG

Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Suedzucker intends – if the stock exchange mood remains good – to publicly float its bioethanol division CropEnergies in the course of this year – Strong international growth – CropEnergies established as a brand and profitable. Suedzucker plans – if the mood in the stock exchange remains good – to publicly float its bioethanol division under the name CropEnergies AG this year. CropEnergies is a successful manufacturer of bioethanol for the fuel sector and is the market leader in Europe. Through an IPO its international expansion is to be placed on a broader financial basis so as to utilize the excellent outlook for the bioethanol market, and in particular in Europe. Dr. Theo Spettmann, the chief executive of Suedzucker AG states: “With the extension of the production facilities in Zeitz and the international expansion currently under way, CropEnergies is endeavouring to occupy a leading position in Europe.” CropEnergies has an established business model. “The basic investment has been completed, the company is operating profitably,” adds CFO Thomas Kölbl. In the first quarter of the current business year (1 March – 31 May 2006) the CropEnergies division attained sales revenues of 30.8 million euros. Ordinary earnings – earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) – amounted to 2.6 million euros. The CropEnergies Group operates Europe’s largest bioethanol plant at the facility in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt, with an annual processing capacity of 700,000 tonnes of crops and a current bioethanol capacity of ca. 260,000 m³. The plant, which was commissioned in the spring of 2005, is outstanding thanks to its efficient continuous fermentation method coupled with an integrated, optimized energy concept. With the enlargement of the existing facilities in Zeitz and the simultaneous diversification of the basic raw materials to include syrup from sugar beet, it is planned to attain a further capacity increase of ca. 100,000 m³ p.a. – to ca. 360,000 m³ p.a. of bioethanol – at the Zeitz facility. In the future European expansion is to be underlined not simply by the extension of the Zeitz facility, but also with new sites in Belgium and France. The company has begun with the planning of a production facility in Belgium with an annual capacity of as much as 300,000 m³ for the manufacture of bioethanol from wheat and sugar beet syrup. In Dunkirk, France, it is planned to raise the annual capacity from its current level of ca. 30,000 m³ to ca. 100,000 m³. Furthermore, through the sale of bioethanol, produced by AGRANA, another company in the Suedzucker Group, CropEnergies will be able to market additional volumes. “With the IPO we intend to place CropEnergies on course to occupy the leading position in Europe in the growth market bioethanol by 2008/09 with an annual production capacity of over 750,000 m³ of bioethanol, and to secure the basis for further growth. Within a capital increase CropEnergies could receive an amount of over 200 million euro,” says chief executive Dr. Theo Spettmann. With Dr. Lutz Guderjahn and Joachim Lutz, two experienced managers from the Suedzucker Group who have played a decisive role in the bioethanol project from the very outset, the bioethanol activities will be headed by a highly capable team in the future. Under the brand name CropEnergies the company markets bioethanol, above all for the production of ETBE, an octane booster made using ethanol and other raw materials, and as an additive for otto fuels. “The CropEnergies brand is already very well positioned in the bio-ethanol sector. As a logical consequence of this, the new bioethanol company will trade under the name CropEnergies AG,” is the reason stated by Dr. Theo Spettmann for the change of name. Under the brand name “CropPower85” the company will also be offering a quality fuel comprising approx. 85 % bioethanol and around 15 % petrol. CropEnergies also manufactures a high-value, protein-rich animal feed with the brand name “ProtiGrain” as a co-product from the production of bioethanol. (c)DGAP 01.09.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: Südzucker AG Mannheim/Ochsenfurt Maximilianstr. 10 68165 Mannheim Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)621 – 421-437 Fax: +49 (0)621 – 421-463 E-mail: investor.relations@suedzucker.de WWW: www.suedzucker.de ISIN: DE0007297004, DE0008461021 DE0001780807 DE000A0AABH1 XS0222524372 WKN: 729700, 846102, 178080, A0AABH, A0E6FU, Indices: MDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Hannover End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————