AGRANA: Challenging market environment weighs on results in financial first
quarter

EQS-News: AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Quarter
Results/Quarterly / Interim Statement
AGRANA: Challenging market environment weighs on results in financial first
quarter

11.07.2024 / 07:30 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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AGRANA: Challenging market environment weighs on results in financial first
quarter


Financial first quarter of 2024|25 at a glance

* Revenue: EUR 944.3 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 966.1 million)

* EBIT: EUR 32.3 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 63.5 million)

* EBIT margin: 3.4% (Q1 prior year: 6.6%)

* Profit for the period: EUR 16.1 million (Q1 prior year: EUR 38.0 million)

* Equity ratio: 46.7% (29 February 2024: 43.2%)

In the first quarter of the 2024|25 financial year (the three months ended
31 May 2024), AGRANA, the fruit, starch and sugar company, generated
operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 32.3 million, a significant reduction of 49.1%
from the first quarter of the prior year. Revenue eased slightly, by 2.3%,
to EUR 944.3 million. "After the robust results of the full year 2023|24, as
expected we had a weaker start to the 2024|25 financial year. The
significant decline in profit resulted from the highly challenging market
environment in the Sugar and Starch segments, where sales prices fell.
Business in the Fruit segment was better, leading to a significant increase
in Fruit EBIT," says AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Stephan Büttner.


Results in each business segment for the first quarter of 2024|25


FRUIT segment

The Fruit segment's revenue in the first quarter was EUR 415.6 million, up
3.6% from the same period one year earlier. The increase occurred both in
the fruit preparations and fruit juice concentrate businesses and resulted
from volume growth.

EBIT of the segment as a whole grew to EUR 27.0 million in the first three
months of the financial year (Q1 prior year: EUR 24.4 million). In the fruit
preparations activities, EBIT was significantly above the year-ago level.
The improvement was attributable partly to a positive business performance
in the Europe region (including Ukraine) and in Mexico.

STARCH segment

Revenue in the Starch segment in the first quarter was EUR 265.5 million, a
reduction of 16.3% from the year-earlier comparative period (Q1 prior year:
EUR 317.1 million), when the war in Ukraine had led to powerful increases in
market prices. Owing to the decline in raw material and energy prices,
market prices for the segment's products decreased noticeably year-on-year,
which impacted the selling prices obtained for the entire Starch portfolio.
Ethanol sales prices, for instance, fell by about 25% amid a substantial
drop in Platts quotations.

At EUR 9.4 million, EBIT in the Starch segment was down very significantly
year-on-year. A key reason for this was the margin decline in starch and
saccharification products driven by significantly lower sales prices for
core and by-products.


SUGAR segment

Sugar segment revenue was EUR 263.2 million, up 6.2% from the first quarter of
the previous year. The negative effect of lower sugar sales prices was more
than made up for by higher sales volumes. The trajectory of the sugar market
was most recently driven by the sugar imports from Ukraine and the
expectation of increased EU sugar production in the 2024/25 campaign.

The Sugar EBIT result in the financial first quarter was a deficit of EUR 4.1
million, a pronounced deterioration from the year-earlier period. This
reflected especially the significant fall in sugar selling prices, which was
steepest in the regions heavily affected by the imports of Ukrainian sugar.


Outlook

For the full 2024|25 financial year, AGRANA expects a significant reduction
in operating profit (EBIT) compared to the previous year. Group revenue is
projected to show a moderate decrease.

Total investment across the three business segments in the 2024|25 financial
year, at approximately EUR 120 million, is to be moderately below the 2023|24
value and in line with budgeted depreciation. About 12% of this capital
expenditure will be for emission reduction measures in the Group's own
production operations under the AGRANA climate strategy.


The detailed financial results are provided in the interim statement for the
first quarter of 2024|25 at https://www.agrana.com/en/ir/.


About AGRANA

AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and
numerous industrial intermediate products. About 9,000 employees at 55
production sites worldwide generate annual Group revenue of approximately EUR
3.8 billion. Established in 1988, the company is the global market leader in
fruit preparations and the world's leading producer of apple and berry juice
concentrates. As well, its Starch segment is a major manufacturer of custom
starch products (made from potato, corn and wheat) and of bioethanol. AGRANA
is the leading sugar producer in Central and Eastern Europe.


For queries, please contact:

Markus Simak
Public Relations
+43 1 21137 12084
markus.simak@agrana.com

Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
+43 1 21137 12905
hannes.haider@agrana.com

This announcement is available in German and English at www.agrana.com.


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11.07.2024 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by EQS Group AG.
www.eqs.com

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   Language:       English
   Company:        AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft
                   F.-W.-Raiffeisen-Platz 1
                   A-1020 Wien
                   Austria
   Phone:          +43-1-21137-0
   Fax:            +43-1-21137-12926
   E-mail:         investor.relations@agrana.com
   Internet:       www.agrana.com
   ISIN:           AT000AGRANA3
   WKN:            A2NB37
   Listed:         Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
                   Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange;
                   Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market)
   EQS News ID:    1943739

End of News EQS News Service
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1943739 11.07.2024 CET/CEST