Suedzucker's Q1 earnings slump on high costs, low sugar prices
Adds details on earnings, forecast
HAMBURG, July 11 (Reuters) -Europe's biggest sugar producer Suedzucker SZUG.DE on Thursday posted a 45% fall in first-quarter earnings, hit by higher costs and lower sugar prices.
The German company reported operating profit of 155 million euros ($167.9 million) for the quarter ended May 31, compared to 282 million euros in the year-ago quarter.
The sugar, CropEnergies biofuel and starch segments all recorded a decline in earnings, it said.
Suedzucker had warned in April that high costs ranging from energy, raw materials, logistics to packaging combined with weak sugar markets would cause a fall in earnings for the first quarter.
The company warned on Wednesday that its second quarter earnings would decline, without providing concrete numbers.
Sugar futures hit 18-month lows in May on expectations of large sugar harvests in Brazil but have since recovered slightly.
Suedzucker's sugar revenues rose 16.5% 1,076 billion euros despite falling prices, with "substantially higher" exports from the EU to global markets a major factor, it said.
The company also affirmed its previous forecast that full-year group operating profit would fall to between 500 million and 600 million euros from 947 million in the previous fiscal year, which ended in February.
It forecast full-year sugar sector operating profit would fall to between 200 and 300 million euros from 558 million last year burdened by rising costs and expected low prices.
Suedzucker said results still depended market volatility caused by the war in Ukraine. The EU gave Ukrainian agricultural products, including sugar, duty-free access to the EU market and although volumes have been restricted, the impact on markets remains uncertain, it said.
The group's sugar beet cultivation area will increase “moderately” for the autumn/winter 2024 harvest compared to the previous year, it said, with an average harvest expected overall.
Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Rachel More and Varun H K
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
