DGAP-News: KTG Agrar AG posts strong growth in H1 2013
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: KTG Agrar AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Bond
KTG Agrar AG posts strong growth in H1 2013
26.09.2013 / 08:55
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KTG Agrar AG posts strong growth in H1 2013
- Total output up 71.3 percent to EUR 97 million; EBIT up 47.3 percent to
EUR 12 million
- Growth driven by biogas and food segments
- Farmland holding hit the 40,000 hectare mark
- Profitable growth strategy: company keeps its sights firmly on quarter of
a billion sales target to be reached within 2 to 3 years
Hamburg, 26 September 2013 - KTG Agrar AG (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) reports
strong growth for the first half of 2013. Driven by all business segments -
farming, biogas and food -, both sales and operating profit showed a clear
upward trend. The first six months of 2013 saw the company raise its total
output by 71.3 percent from EUR 56.6 million to EUR 97.0 million, with
sales increasing by 116.2 percent from EUR 31.3 million to EUR 67.8
million. Operating profit advanced by 47.3 percent from EUR 8.2 million to
EUR 12 million. 'We had a dynamic start to the year 2013. The massive
investments made in recent years are now really coming on stream and paying
off,' says Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar AG, adding 'The sale of
the harvest in the second half of year will bump up our revenues even
further.'
Given that the first six months are typically the weaker half of any year
for this agricultural company, growth was primarily driven by the food and
biogas business segments. The farming segment contributed EUR 6.7 million
(H1 2012: EUR 4.8 million), including EUR 3.4 million and EUR 3.3 million
from organic and conventional farming, respectively. The recent years'
investments in the extension of the value chain from basic agriculture to
food production once again had a highly positive effect, with the food
segment's contribution rising by 284.9 percent from EUR 7.2 million to EUR
26.0 million. Revenues from the sale of environmentally friendly energy
increased by 91.1 percent to EUR 26.1 million. The total grid-connected
electrical capacity of the biogas plants operated by the subsidiary, KTG
Energie Biogasanlagen, amounted to 41 megawatts (MW) on June 30, 2013, with
six MW having been added since the start of the year.
Access to farmland is an essential success factor for any agricultural
company. Farmland is a limited resource worldwide. It cannot be increased
and its value will continue to rise, driven by unstoppable population
growth and the growing need for energy in the future. At the end of June
2013, KTG Agrar had access to some 40,150 hectares of farmland, including
32,150 hectares in Germany. The company's farmland holdings in Lithuania
amount to approximately 8,000 hectares. Some 9,950 hectares (including
5,300 in Germany) of the total farmland are owned by KTG Agrar, meaning
that the ownership ratio has risen from 23 percent to 24.8 percent since
the end of H1 2012. The non-owned farmland is used under long term leases.
Positive outlook: continued profitable growth through the rest of 2013
The development during the first half of the year shows that KTG Agrar's
profitable growth strategy continues also in 2013. The contribution from
the two growth drivers, Food and Biogas, will continue to rise. A
state-of-the-art fresh produce facility is about to be commissioned in
Linthe on the outskirts of Berlin, a conurbation which is home to 3.5million consumers. The new centre will package fresh potatoes, carrots and
onions. KTG Agrar also expects additional stimulation from the
world-leading ANUGA food fair in early October; the group's exhibit will
include its Frenzel and Bio-Zentrale brands. The food segment alone is
envisaged to raise its sales to more than EUR 100 million within a few
years. The biogas plants completed to date mean that the biogas segment
will increase its sales to EUR 50 million already in the current year and
growth is set to continue in this segment as well. The farming segment
reports a good harvest overall. As a result of the well thought-out crop
rotation schemes, the strong precipitation did not cause problems. Maize
crops, in particular, were very gratifying this year. KTG Agrar is looking
at continued growth also beyond the year 2013. Says Siegfried Hofreiter:
'We remain committed to our target of hitting a quarter of a billion euros
in sales within the coming two or three years.'
The 2013 interim report will be published on the company's website at
www.ktg-agrar.de on 30 September 2013.
About KTG Agrar
With cultivable land of more than 39,000 hectares, KTG Agrar AG (ISIN:
DE000A0DN1J4) is one of the leading producers of agricultural commodities
in Europe. As an integrated supplier, the company produces agricultural
commodities and renewable energy and food. The Hamburg-based company's core
area of expertise is the organic and traditional cultivation of market
products such as cereals, maize and rapeseed. For organic market products
KTG Agrar is the European market leader. The company mainly produces in
Germany but has also operated production in the EU member state of
Lithuania since 2005. As a result of the takeover of Frenzel Tiefkühlkost
and Biozentrale Naturprodukte, KTG has expanded the value chain by the
production of food. In the year 2012, KTG achieved a total output of EUR
168 million and EBIT of EUR 29.5 million. Since November 2007 the company
is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and had 591 employees at year end
2012. Further information can be found at www.ktg-agrar.de.
Contact
Investor Relations / Presse
Fabian Lorenz
IR.on AG
Phone: +49 221 914097-6
E-mail: fabian.lorenz(at)ir-on.com
End of Corporate News
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Language: English
Company: KTG Agrar AG
Ferdinandstr. 12
20095 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)40-303 76-47
Fax: +49 (0)40-303 76-799
E-mail: presse(at)ktg-agrar.de
Internet: www.ktg-agrar.de
ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4, DE000A1H3VN9, DE000A1ELQU9,
WKN: A0DN1J , A1H3VN, A1ELQU
Indices: HASPAX
Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München
(m:access), Stuttgart; Frankfurt in Open Market (Entry
Standard)
End of News DGAP News-Service
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232013 26.09.2013
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Datum: 26.09.2013 - 08:55 Uhr
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