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The first quarter of the current financial year lasted three months (1 March through 31 May 2003) throughout the group after the balance-sheet dates of the AGRANA International companies were brought into line with the consolidated group’s balance-sheet date (last day of February).  That was in contrast to the previous financial year, when the AGRANA International companies had an accounting first quarter lasting five months (1 January through 31 May 2002).  The change limits comparability between the current financial year and 2002/03.

AGRANA’S revenues during the first quarter of this group financial year (1 March through 31 May 2003) were € 52 million down on 2002/03.  Profit from operating activities fell by € 9.7 million, and first-quarter consolidated earnings dropped by € 6.7 million.  Based on genuinely comparable periods (i.e. 1 March through 31 May for all group-members), revenues fell by € 12.3 million, profit from operating activities declined by € 1.8 million, and consolidated earnings fell by € 1.6 million.

Most of the drop in revenues took place within the group’s Austrian Sugar Division and was attributable to the low world market price of sugar and the US$/€ exchange rate.  The Starch Division recorded an increase in both revenues and sales by volume.  The decline in profit from operating activities took place within the AGRANA International companies, whose markets suffered setbacks in both volumes and prices compared with the same period of 2002/03.


The group’s performance in the first quarter of the current financial year:

Outlook for the 2003/04 financial year
As the 2003/04 financial year of the AGRANA International companies will be of normal length (12 months, as against 14 months in 2002/03) and given the low world market price of export sugar, we are projecting a 5 per cent fall-off in full-year revenues (without the Fruit Division).  However, the drop in revenues will be counterbalanced by Vallø Saft’s integration into the consolidated group.  If our markets remain weak and in view of the likelihood of a fall in revenues from sales of C sugar (caused by a combination of the low world market price of sugar and a weak US dollar), our profit from operating activities may be as much as 15 per cent down on 2002/03.