Südzucker reports stable group revenue with lower earnings

Group revenue at Südzucker AG, Mannheim, in the first nine months (1 March 2013 to 30 November 2013) of fiscal 2013/14 came in at EUR 6,029 million, the same level as last year’s EUR 6,046 million. While revenue in the sugar segment fell, revenue in all other segments rose. As expected, consolidated group operating profit fell sharply to EUR 607 (previous year: 816) million, primarily due to the decline in operating profit in the sugar segment. Operating profit was also lower in the CropEnergies and special products segments, while the fruit segment’s profits were significantly higher. Net financial debt was further cut by EUR 308 million to EUR 79 million. Consolidated group revenue is forecasted to continue to decline slightly for the entire fiscal year 2013/14, to about EUR 7.6 billion from EUR 7.9 billion last year. Operating profit is expected to continue to drop sharply as well, to about EUR 650 (previous year: 974) million.