Südzucker sees its profit for the 2023/24 financial year increasing by 22,5% to €648 million. This is considerably higher than the €529 million of the 2022/23 financial year. The difference with the 2021/22 financial year is particularly large. That year the profit was still €123 million.
2023/24 revenue increased year-on-year from €9,5 billion to €10,3 billion. That is an increase of 8,3%. Ebitda increased from €1,1 billion to €1,3 billion. It is striking that the number of employees has also increased by a significant 4,7%, to 19.204 employees.
Sugar segment revenue is growing strongly
Südzucker writes in their report that revenues mainly arise from the success of the sugar segment, the special products segment (for example ready-made products, pet food and snacks) and the fruit segment. This is in contrast to the energy segment and the starch segment, which the company said shrank significantly. The CropEnergies energy segment produces, among other things, renewable ethanol.
The fruit segment generated €1,6 billion in revenues, 5,7% more than the previous financial year. Sales of the special products segment were 2,4% higher at €8,9 billion. Südzucker made the biggest progress in the sugar segment. That branch of the company generated a turnover of €4,2 billion, a significant 29,4% more than in 2023. According to Südzucker, this was mainly due to higher prices during the financial year.
CropEnergies down 21,5%
In contrast, the turnover of the starch segment was €1,1 billion, 11,5% lower. This is due to lower sales volumes and prices. The company's energy branch (CropEnergies) generated a turnover of €1,1 billion, a decrease of 21,5%. On the one hand, this was the result of lower sales volumes in connection with planned work. On the other hand, due to significantly lower prices, writes Südzucker.