BayWa AG
BayWa presents figures for the first nine months of 2014: Energy and Building Materials continue positive development – low grain prices impact results in Agriculture
BayWa AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results BayWa presents figures for the first nine months of 2014: Energy and Building Materials continue positive development – low grain prices impact results in Agriculture The performance of BayWa AG, Munich, Germany, was characterised by highly varied business development in the individual segments in the first nine months of the current year. The international trade and services company’s revenues amounted to around EUR11.4 billion as at 30 September 2014 (2013: EUR12.2 billion). EBIT amounted to EUR74.5 million (2013: EUR177.7 million). The major difference in EBIT between the results of the first nine months of 2013 and 2014 is attributable to one-off effects in the previous year, which included the accounting profit from the sale of real estate packages. The segments’ operating EBIT totalled EUR111.4 million (2013: EUR133.8 million) in the first nine months of the year. EBIT was also affected by this year’s low price situation in agricultural trade. BayWa’s agricultural business made a significantly smaller contribution to earnings on account of high harvest volumes both for grain and fruit as well as constantly falling prices for agricultural products. Development in agricultural resources as well as the Energy and Building Materials Segments, which remained highly positive, was unable to completely absorb the market impact in agricultural trade. The international project business in the field of renewable energies, which recorded a year-on-year doubling of EBIT in the first nine months of the year, made a particularly significant contribution to the consolidated result. The Building Materials Segment also increased its result year on year as at 30 September 2014. “I am optimistic that we will be able to match or perhaps even exceed last year’s results in Energy and Building Materials,” Chief Executive Officer Klaus Josef Lutz said with an eye towards the results for 2014 as a whole. In contrast, the markets, especially in grain trade – which are characterised by a large harvest, low prices and the reluctance so far on part of producers and industry to part with and buy the produce – will present BayWa with a major challenge in the final quarter of 2014, he explained. As a result, he added, it seems unrealistic that the company will match last year’s results in Agriculture. At the same time, this market situation also offers clear opportunities thanks to the availability of good production volumes, both in terms of quantity and quality, according to Lutz. The associated marketing opportunities will probably extend well into the next year, he said. The company is constantly working to expand its business internationally to continue increasing BayWa’s market opportunities in the field of agriculture, the Chief Executive Officer emphasised, and pointed out the planned reorganisation of the national fruit business at the end of the year. This reorganisation is aimed at orienting the national fruit business more towards international markets and, most importantly, allowing it to benefit from an opening of sales channels to Asia. “The opening of a Cefetra branch in Italy is a first step towards serving southern European markets and is also of importance in view of our strategy of being the leading European company in agricultural trade, distribution and logistics with a global focus,” Klaus Josef Lutz explained. Agricultural Trade: large harvest volumes and low prices impact results In the Agricultural Trade business unit, the reporting period was characterised by high global harvest volumes and the resulting major declines in prices for grain, oilseed and feedstuffs. Prices started to bottom out towards the end of the third quarter, leading to an increase in willingness to buy and sell. The domestic sluggishness in trade had a less significant impact on the international grain business. As a result, Cefetra recorded stable sales, but at significantly lower margins due to the price trend. Against this backdrop, revenues in Agricultural Trade amounted to EUR6.3 billion as at 30 September 2014 (2013: EUR6.9 billion) as a result of price development. EBIT amounted to EUR40.3 million (2013: EUR66.1 million). Larger amounts of grain collected compared to the previous year and the increase in grain prices since mid-October mean that there is indeed earnings potential for this year’s harvest with respect to the rest of the marketing season. The Group’s fruit trading activities recorded growing demand during the summer months. Revenues came to EUR432.7 million as at 30 September 2014 (2013: EUR450.0 million). EBIT amounted to EUR15.9 million (2013: EUR21.0 million). The positive development of sales is due both to catch-up effects in BayWa’s domestic sales regions as well as the positive marketing season for apples from the southern hemisphere produced by New Zealand majority holding Turners & Growers Limited. However, the very high apple-harvest volume in Europe in combination with the Russian ban on European fruit imports led to falling prices and corresponding pressure on trading margins. As a result, EBIT was down slightly year on year. Energy Segment: results double at BayWa r.e. thanks to international growth BayWa’s conventional energy business with heating oil, fuels and lubricants showed positive development in recent months and has caught up significantly since the first half of 2014. At around 1.1 million tonnes, sales of diesel and Otto fuels matched the positive level seen in the previous year. In lubricants, the segment bucked the overall market trend to realise a 9% increase in volume. Demand also picked up in trading with the heat energy carriers heating oil and wood pellets, reducing the year-on-year decline in sales. In total, the business unit reported revenues of EUR2.0 billion as at 30 September 2014 (2013: EUR2.2 billion) and EBIT of EUR4.0 million (2013: EUR7.5 million). At the start of the heating period and in light of consistently low oil prices, BayWa expects to see results in the conventional energy business continue to improve in the remaining months of the year. The Renewable Energies business sector continued to post highly positive development in the first part of the second half of 2014, with both revenues and EBIT rising significantly. Revenues amounted to EUR463.9 million as at 30 September 2014 (2013: EUR289.2 million). EBIT more than doubled to EUR20.5 million (2013: EUR10.2 million). In particular, the sale of several completed wind and solar projects had a positive effect on the result. A solar park in the UK with 18.5 megawatts (MW) in output and a wind plant in the USA with a total output of 19.8 MW were among those sold. Additional project sales are likely at BayWa r.e. by the end of the year. Plans are in place to sell a large solar park in France as well as several wind parks in Europe and the USA, which should result in a year-on-year increase in the result in this business sector. Building Materials Segment: trade in building materials benefits from good business in core regions Contact: Marion Danneboom, BayWa AG, Head of PR/Corporate Communication, tel. +49 (0)89/92 22-36 80, Fax +49 (0)89/92 22-36 98, e-mail: marion.danneboom@baywa.de 06.11.2014 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
Language: | English | |
Company: | BayWa AG | |
Arabellastraße 4 | ||
81925 München | ||
Germany | ||
Phone: | 089/ 9222-3691 | |
Fax: | 089/ 9222-3698 | |
E-mail: | marion.danneboom@baywa.de | |
Internet: | www.baywa.de | |
ISIN: | DE0005194062, DE0005194005, | |
WKN: | 519406, 519400, | |
Indices: | SDAX | |
Listed: | Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart | |
End of News | DGAP News-Service |
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