News Annual figures
AVP and corona pressure Vion result considerably
Vion closed the 'turbulent' year 2021 with significantly lower results. The company's EBITDA fell by no less than €82 to €40 million.
A net loss of €29 million was incurred below the line. In 2020, the largest slaughter group in the Netherlands was able to add a positive result of just under €53 million. Vion's turnover decreased by 6,2% to €4,6 billion. The volume sold fell by 1,9%.
2021 turbulent year
Vion CEO Lotgerink calls 2021 a turbulent year. The company was severely affected by the changed market conditions for pork, increased production costs and major challenges in the logistics chain. Lotgerink calls it an 'unprecedented combination of challenging global developments and market dynamics'. The German activities in particular were strongly negatively affected by this.
Viruses mainly affect German pig results
In Germany, in particular, Vion suffered a lot from the consequences of corona and African swine fever (ASF). Corona infections among staff slowed down production capacity. The outbreaks of ASF put pressure on export positions to Asia. The result was an oversupply of pork on the European and, in particular, the German market. It also put pressure on the pig population in the country.
On the beef markets, on the other hand, prices were rising. Vion speaks of a decreasing supply that hit a stable demand in 2021. Prices for cattle rose rapidly, especially in the second half of the year. According to Vion, the fresh meat market always needs time to adjust prices upwards, which put some pressure on the company's margins here too.
For the year 2021, Vion will not pay a dividend to shareholder NCB, which is part of the Southern Agricultural and Horticultural Organization (ZLTO). In 2020, €17,5 million was transferred last year.
Despite the challenging market conditions, Vion is pleased that it was able to maintain its strong market position last year. For the year 2022, however, the expectations are uncertain. Vion cites the possible impact of new corona variants, the conflict in Ukraine, the spread of ASF and rising inflation as factors that could influence the result in the current year.
Steve Wissink
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