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Quarterly Report 
 
Vienna - First three quarters of 2020|21 at a glance 
 
 
* Revenue: EUR 1,965.3 million (+4.6%; Q1-Q3 prior year: EUR 1,879.4 million) 
* EBIT: EUR 84.3 million (+20.8%; Q1-Q3 prior year: EUR 69.8 million) 
* EBIT margin: 4.3% (Q1-Q3 prior year: 3.7%) 
* Profit for the period: EUR 53.8 million (+24.8%; Q1-Q3 prior year: EUR 43.1 
  million) 
* Equity ratio: 53.4% (29 February 2020: 54.4%) 
 
 
 
Outlook for full year 2020|21 
 
 
* Forecast for full 2020|21 financial year is reaffirmed, with EBIT at least at 
  year-earlier level and with slight rise in revenue 
* Diversification provided by the three segments Fruit, Starch and Sugar 
  underpins stable Group performance 
 
 
 
In the first three quarters of the 2020|21 financial year, AGRANA, the fruit, 
starch and sugar company, generated EBIT operating profit of EUR 84.3 million. 
AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Johann Marihart comments: "The key drivers of the 
earnings growth were good results in bioethanol - especially in the third 
quarter - and a profitability improvement in the Sugar segment thanks to higher 
sugar prices and volumes. Sugar EBIT nevertheless remained negative due mainly 
to idle-capacity costs associated with the incomplete utilisation of sugar 
factories, notably in Austria. In the Fruit segment, EBIT in the fruit 
preparations business rose significantly in the first three quarters from the 
year-earlier reporting period. The performance of the fruit juice concentrate 
business, on the other hand, was down considerably as a result of lower 
available volumes from the prior year's apple crop." 
 
 
Results in each business segment 
 
 
FRUIT segment 
 
Fruit segment revenue in the first three quarters was EUR 891.7 million, closely 
in line with the year-earlier level. In fruit preparations, revenue and sales 
volumes remained steady. Revenue in the fruit juice concentrate activities saw a 
moderate increase from a year ago, thanks largely to higher prices for the 
product group of fruit juice concentrates, albeit on the back of higher apple 
prices. Segment EBIT in the first nine months was EUR 41.3 million, off 10.0% 
from one year earlier. While fruit preparations EBIT improved, the main reason 
for the deterioration at segment level lay in lower delivery volumes in the 
fruit juice concentrate business combined with reduced contribution margins for 
apple juice concentrate produced from the 2019 harvest. Likewise, margins are 
under pressure in berry juice concentrates and apple juice concentrate made from 
the 2020 crop. 
 
 
STARCH segment 
 
Revenue in the Starch segment in the first nine months was EUR 620.8 million, or 
slightly above the year-ago value. Significant volume and revenue growth was 
achieved for wheat starch, through the capacity expansion in Pischelsdorf, 
Austria. Market demand for almost all core products eased as a result of COVID- 
19, leading to higher supply pressure. Reflecting the impact of the pandemic, 
ethanol quotations were highly volatile. A drastic price slump in March 2020 in 
the course of the first lockdown was followed by a recovery in quotations during 
the second quarter of the financial year amid the renewed increase in private 
transport, culminating in an all-time high of above EUR 800 per cubic metre of 
ethanol in September; prices fell again to below EUR 500 per cubic metre in 
December. At EUR 58.5 million, EBIT in the Starch segment was slightly above the 
year-earlier amount. The earnings increase was made possible by the high ethanol 
selling prices, while the margins on the other core products were down amid 
reduced market demand. 
 
 
SUGAR segment 
 
The Sugar segment's revenue in the first three quarters was EUR 452.8 million, 
up 18.2% from one year earlier. This reflected both higher sugar selling prices 
and increased sugar sales volumes, especially with resellers. Although EBIT in 
the first nine months was still negative at a deficit of EUR 15.5 million, it 
improved markedly from the year-ago loss of EUR 33.4 million thanks to a more 
benign sales price environment. 
 
 
The detailed financial results are provided in the interim statement for the 
first three quarters of 2020|21 (LINK [https://www.agrana.com/fileadmin/inhalte/ 
agrana_group/quarterly_reports/2020_21/AGRANA_Interim_statement_Q1- 
3_2020_21_EN.pdf]) 
 
 
Outlook 
 
Taking into account the continuing impacts of the coronavirus crisis, AGRANA 
expects Group EBIT for the full 2020|21 financial year to at least match the 
prior-year level. Group revenue is projected to show slight growth. Due to the 
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the associated strong volatility in all business 
segments, the forecast for the full year remains subject to very high 
uncertainty. 
 
In the 2020|21 financial year, after the high capital expenditure of the 
previous years, the AGRANA Group plans to invest approximately EUR 76 million, 
an amount significantly less than the budgeted depreciation of about EUR 120 
million. 
 
 
About AGRANA 
 
AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into high-quality foods and numerous 
industrial intermediate products. About 9,400 employees at 56 production sites 
worldwide generate annual Group revenue of approximately EUR 2.5 billion. 
Established in 1988, the company is the world market leader in fruit 
preparations and the foremost producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe. 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. 
 
This announcement is available in German and English at www.agrana.com [https:// 
www.agrana.com/en]. 
 
 
 
Further inquiry note: 
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG 
 
 
Mag.(FH) Hannes Haider 
Investor Relations 
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12905 
e-mail:hannes.haider@agrana.com 
 
 
Mag.(FH) Markus Simak 
Public Relations 
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12084 
e-mail: markus.simak@agrana.com 
 
end of announcement                         euro adhoc 
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 14, 2021 01:30 ET (06:30 GMT)