AGRANA–A Successful 3rd Quarter 2001/02

The third quarter of 2001/02 brought a continuation of our pleasing business development during the first half of the financial year

Date: 18.01.2002

Q1 — Q3 2001/02
The third quarter of 2001/02 brought a continuation of our pleasing business development during the first half of the financial year. Revenues were 10 percent or € 60 million up on the same period of 2000/01 at € 639.9 million. The Austrian members of the group recorded faster growth than our subsidiaries in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, thanks above all to a rise in export revenues.

Because of changes in the periodical assignments of campaign costs in the accounts (due to harmonization within the Südzucker Group), our reported EBIT during the first three quarters grew disproportionately rapidly, increasing by 33 percent. However, the effects of those changes will be cancelled out again during the fourth quarter. If the figures had not been distorted in this way, our reported operating profit in the period ended 30 November would have increased by about 9 percent.

Thanks to an improvement in our financial result, we can also report increases in pre-tax profit and consolidated net profit for the first three quarters.

 

AGRANA during the
first three quarters
Q1 - Q3
2001/02
Q1 - Q2
2000/01
Change
Revenues Mio. EUR 639,9 579,3 + 60,6
EBIT Mio. EUR 56,7 42,6 + 14,1
Profit before tax Mio. EUR 49,1 27,5 + 21,6
Consolidated net profit Mio. EUR 31,9 19,1 + 12,8
Investments Mio. EUR 28,0
(planned p.a.)
38,2 
(actual p.a.)
- 10,2
Staff 4.378 4.640 - 262

 

Outlook for the 2001/02 financial year
We expect the 2001/02 financial year ending 28 February 2002 to close with consolidated revenues of € 813 million (previous year: € 760.2 million), which would represent growth of 7 percent. Despite difficult business conditions and contracting markets (above all in Central and Eastern Europe), our consolidated full-year net profit should be higher than in 2000/01–which was a very good year–at € 40 million (2000/01: € 37.6 million).