EQS-News

BayWa AG expects earnings to improve in the financial year 2024 - Seite 2

The company aims to achieve earnings of between €470 and €520 million by the end of 2026, having originally intended to reach this target in 2025. BayWa is counting on the consistently strong appeal of the markets it serves in the fields of food and energy, both of which offer good prospects for the future. “Our major growth areas are the international grain and speciality products trade, as well as renewable energies,” Pöllinger says. “Those are fields where we are making sustainable investments. I see a need for optimisation in the agriculture and building materials business units. That is something we are tackling with determination.”

Operating earnings satisfactory in 2023 – Cefetra Group and Agricultural Equipment improve on high prior-year level once again

In the Agricultural Equipment Segment, sales were boosted by the resolution of supply chain problems and farmers’ high propensity to invest. As a result, the previous year’s record revenues and EBIT were once again exceeded. The Cefetra Group Segment was able to successfully seize trading opportunities offered by fluctuating prices in both the traditional and speciality business.

In the Renewable Energies Segment, increased earnings in energy trading were unable to compensate for the weak demand and drop in prices in the solar module business. Both revenues and EBIT fell short of an exceptional 2022.

The Global Produce Segment continued to struggle with the consequences of Cyclone Gabrielle, which destroyed large parts of the plantations and harvest in New Zealand in February 2023. Alongside the harvest losses, insurance payments, some of which were not fully settled in the previous year, also impacted the result. Rising prices for exotic fruits on the market were unable to compensate for this shortfall.

The Agri Trade & Service Segment suffered from significant price drops, particularly in the fertilizer business. Extreme weather conditions over the course of the entire growing season also had a negative impact on both the volume and quality collected in domestic grain trading.

The drastic slump in German residential construction led to a huge drop in demand in the Building Materials Segment. The company had already taken steps to counter this trend in the previous year with a cost-cutting programme, site closures and recruitment freeze. The effect of these measures will be reflected in the 2024 result.