Press

The Annual General Meeting of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG today voted to pay a dividend – unchanged from the prior year – of € 1.95 per share for the completed 2007|08 financial year. The members of the Management Board and the Supervisory Board were discharged from liability for the 2007|08 financial year. The audit partnership formed by KPMG and Multicont was appointed as the independent auditor.

In its discussion of the 2007|08 annual financial statements, the Management Board cited, among other factors, the volatility in raw material markets, the high payments to the EU sugar market restructuring fund and the adverse effect of the trend in energy prices. The management indicated that this general pattern continues in the current new financial year. In its outlook, the Management Board spoke of subdued volume sales of starch products and fruit juice concentrates, and the uncertain price trend in the core businesses during the second half of this financial year. The management said that, despite these factors, it currently expects the continuing growth to expand the Group’s revenue to about € 2.1 billion for the 2008|09 financial year, although with a significant decrease in operating profit due to the persistent cost increases and unsatisfactory price situation. In the 2009|10 financial year, operating profit is expected to return to the levels of 2007|08.

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