With its diversified business model and sound balance sheet, AGRANA considers itself well positioned for the future.
Key sources of uncertainty for the following forecast remain the war in Ukraine and its consequences. Due to the unpredictability of the further course of the war, effects such as exceptional cost increases and demand declines cannot be ruled out. Since the outbreak of the war, the volatility in the Group’s product markets and procurement markets further intensified. AGRANA’s projections are based on the assumptions that the physical supplies of energy and raw materials remain assured and that purchasing price increases, especially for raw materials and energy, can be passed on in adjusted customer contracts.
AGRANA-Group | 2022|23 Actual | 2023|24 Forecast | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Revenue | €m | 3,637.4 | Significant increase | |
EBIT | €m | 88.3 | Very significant increase | |
Investment1 | €m | 102.9 | 150 |
1 Investment represents purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding goodwill.
At Group level for the 2023|24 financial year, AGRANA expects a very significant increase in operating profit (EBIT). Group revenue is projected to show significant growth.
In the Fruit segment, AGRANA expects the 2023|24 financial year to bring an improvement in revenue and in operating profit. In the fruit preparations business, a positive revenue trend is projected, driven primarily by price adjustments; its EBIT is to improve very significantly, due both to the base-year effect of the goodwill impairment in 2022|23 and the fact that the business is targeting an increase in operating margins for 2023|24. In the fruit juice concentrate activities, revenue for this financial year is predicted to be in line with one year earlier. Based on the sales contracts closed to date for product from the 2022 crop, the earnings situation in the concentrate business in 2023|24 is expected to remain good.
Fruit segment | 2022|23 Actual | 2023|24 Forecast | ||
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Revenue | €m | 1,481.9 | Slight increase | |
EBIT | €m | (38.5) | Very significant improvement | |
Investment1 | €m | 37.7 | 58 |
1 Investment represents purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding goodwill.
For the Starch segment, a significant increase in revenue is forecast for the 2023|24 financial year, driven primarily by higher sales prices. The company does not expect to be able to fully pass on the increased production costs to the markets. Moreover, the ethanol business is predicted to remain very volatile, with earnings lower than one year earlier. Starch segment EBIT is therefore expected to be significantly below last year’s result.
Starch segment | 2022|23 Actual | 2023|24 Forecast | ||
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Revenue | €m | 1,293.8 | Moderate increase | |
EBIT | €m | 80.2 | Significant reduction | |
Investment1 | €m | 31.0 | 60 |
1 Investment represents purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding goodwill.
In the Sugar segment, AGRANA is projecting revenue growth for 2023|24, largely price-related. In the event of a stable EU sugar market environment, a further improvement in operating performance is expected. Due to the ban on neonicotinoids in Austria, there is an increased risk of lower yields per hectare and lower production volumes for the two Austrian sites.
Sugar segment | 2022|23 Actual | 2023|24 Forecast | ||
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Revenue | €m | 861.7 | Significant increase | |
EBIT | €m | 46.6 | Significant increase | |
Investment1 | €m | 34.2 | 32 |
1 Investment represents purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, excluding goodwill.
Total investment across the three business segments in the 2023|24 financial year, at approximately € 150 million, is to significantly exceed both the 2022|23 value and this year’s budgeted depreciation of about € 120 million. Approximately 16% of the capital expenditure will be for emission reduction measures in the Group’s own production operations, under the AGRANA climate strategy.
Investment in the Fruit segment this year is budgeted at approximately € 58 million, or about 28% more than the expected level of depreciation. The planned main focus is on asset replacement and maintenance investment as well as production optimisation measures (e.g., for energy efficiency).
The investment budgeted for the Starch segment this year is about € 60 million; after two years of low capital spending, it will thus exceed depreciation again (by 26%). Most of the capital expenditures will go to product optimisation and plant modernisation projects.
The capital expenditures planned in the Sugar segment for the year, at about € 32 million, will also be higher than depreciation. Besides asset replacement and maintenance investment, the spending is being directed especially to energy efficiency measures and plant modernisation.
AGRANA expects that, by the end of the 2023 calendar year at the latest, it will be able to publish science-based emission reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) (see the section “AGRANA climate strategy”). As well, in the 2023|24 financial year, the corporate carbon footprint for the 2022|23 financial year will be calculated in accordance with the SBTi guidance for companies in the so-called forest, land and agriculture sector and AGRANA’s climate strategy will be updated accordingly. A further focus will be on the calculation of AGRANA-specific emission factors for the most important agricultural crops. In addition, regenerative agriculture projects will be designed and implemented together with different partners along the value chain.