Corporate | 13 June 2001 09:31

Agrana Beteiligungs-AG english

Corporate-News announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Growth in every segment: Increases of 8.1 percent in consolidated revenues, 42 percent in EBIT, 71 percent in net profit for the year , 70 percent in cash flow AGRANA is determined to remain on course at its new level of earnings AGRANA Beteiligungs-AGs revenues passed the 10-billion- Austrian schilling mark during the 2000/01 financial year (1 March 2000 through 28 February 2001), doubling consolidated revenues since AGRANA was founded in 1988. Consolidated revenues increased by 8.1 percent on the year to EUR 760.2 million/ATS 10.461 billion (previous year: EUR 703.0 million/ATS 9.673 billion). Roughly EUR 43.6 million of that increase resulted from sales in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and some EUR 7.3 million was generated by the starch segment in Austria. As CEO Johann Marihart reported at todays press conference in Vienna, “this new dimension in earnings has been made possible by steady growth combined with systematic structuring of the Group to create efficient units and a streamlined Group management”. AGRANAs EBIT grew by 42 percent to EUR 66.7 million (previous year: EUR 47.0 million) and net profit for the year increased by 71 percent to EUR 37.6 million (previous year: EUR 22.0 million). The Groups subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe accounted for just one third of consolidated revenues but nearly half of EBIT. Restructuring and rationalization in those countries (which was modelled on the Groups operations in Austria and carried out with a view to forthcoming entry into the EU) unleashed the extensive synergies that made the Groups surge in performance possible. As a result, AGRANAs EBIT margin rose from 6.7 percent in 1999/2000 to 8.8 percent in the 2000/01 financial year, and its ROCE rose from 9.8 percent to 12.8 percent. Cash flow totalled EUR 98.7 million (previous year: EUR 58.2 million), or 13 percent of revenues, which was more than double the volume of investments during 2000/01. The world market price of sugar recovered from its 15-year low in 1999/2000, making an significant contribution to the Groups success during 2000/01 alongside further improvements in results in the Austrian and Hungarian starch segments and, above all, the healthy development of sugar operations in the Czech and Hungarian markets. AGRANAs strategy for Eastern Europe is thus paying off in full, yielding all the expected benefits. The Austrian Starch Division is also making a sustained contribution to consolidated results based on growth, specialization in niche markets and the expansion that will be made possible by the enlargement of the maize starch factory in Aschach/Upper Austria (new capacities will go online in the summer of 2001). Investments in increasing capacities at Aschach totalled roughly EUR 22 million/ATS 300 million. Pursuing a Group strategy focused on strengthening the Starch Division and extending sugar operations to include Central and Eastern Europe (i.e. the candidates for future EU membership), AGRANA has succeeded in reinforcing and broadening its earning power, which for many years depended solely on sugar operations within Austria. The current financial year – 2001/02: The present sugar-market regime was to have expired on 30 June 2001, but on 22 May 2001 it was extended to the end of June 2006. The self financed storage refund system has been abolished, reducing spending in the EU budget by roughly EUR 300 million but at the same time denting EU budget revenues by the same amount. The decision to extend the sugar-market regime for five years will allow its harmonization with Agenda 2000, the EBA initiative (Everything But Arms) and WTO-negotiations. In the final analysis, the extension will also create an unambiguous basis for the setting of sugar quotas for CEE countries during EU accession negotiations (and thus also for AGRANAs sugar subsidiaries in the CEE region). AGRANAs Sugar Division again increased areas under sugar beet for the 2001 growing season, namely frol year. P.S.: This Press Release and the current Annual Report for 2000/01 are also available in the Internet at http://www.agrana.com end of message, (c) DGAP 13.06.2001