Tereos Reports Increased Revenues, Sweetened by International Sugar Activities

22 Jun 2017 --- Tereos have reported an improvement in all of its business and profitability indicators, following two years of sharp declines in sugar prices at the European and world-wide level. 

The long-term strategy, the initiatives implemented by the Group for several years and the strong operational performance during the 2016/2017 financial year enabled the Group to take the best possible advantage of the improvement in the economic environment. 
 
Accordingly, revenues increased by some 15% to €4,819 million (€4,201 million in 2015/2016), while the Group’s adjusted EBITDA rose by 38% to €607 million (€440 million in 2015/2016). The EBITDA margin amounted to 12.6%, an increase (of +2.1ppts) over the previous financial year. Consolidated net income amounted to €107 million. 
 
The Group’s financial performance benefited from the strong results of its Sugar International activities, which accounted for over 50% of adjusted EBITDA. 
 
The world’s third largest sugar producer, is well positioned to cope with the end of quotas and the deregulation of the markets. 
 
Thierry Lecomte, Chairman of Tereos’s Supervisory Board, highlighted the following points: “We act with a sectoral view, and keep the valorization of agricultural raw materials at the heart of our mission. In view of the deregulation of the European market Tereos was the first group to guarantee its cooperative partners a minimum price for sugar beets. The volumes produced by its cooperative partners will increase by 25% this year.” 
 
Alexis Duval, Chairman of Tereos’ Executive Board, made the following comments: “We achieved an excellent operational performance this year. The agricultural and operating model that Tereos has built is currently one of the most effective in Europe. Tereos is today the only one among the three leading global sugar groups to have a presence on several continents. Our international sugar production activities, and especially Brazil, contributed half of our operating income this year. In increasingly volatile and inter-dependent commodity markets Tereos will remain constantly on the move, and will pursue its development according to a sound strategy based on a long-term vision.” 

The Group’s adjusted EBITDA (before price complements) amounted to €607 million in 2016/2017, up €168 million, i.e. an increase of 38% (32% excluding currency effects) driven by higher sugar prices and the ramp-up of performance plans. The Sugar International and Starch and Sweeteners operations’ contributions to adjusted EBITDA accounted for over two thirds of the Group total, as was the case last year. After experiencing a steep decline in its profitability due to permanently low sugar and ethanol prices in Europe, the French and European sugar business reported a strong increase in its adjusted EBITDA (+34%), although it is nonetheless still below its historical records. 
 
In Europe, Tereos has implemented all of the measures aimed at preparing for the end of the quota regime. The coming 2017/2018 campaign in France will see the tonnage of beets processed increase to 19 million tons (i.e. +25%). The international sugar and ethanol trading activities will provide support for marketing the new volumes produced at export. 

Sugar Europe
The revenues of the Sugar Europe operations increased by 6% (+7% at constant exchange rates), rising from €1,760 million in 2015/2016 to €1,861 million in 2016/2017, due to the increase in sugar prices in the second half. The operating performance was satisfactory in France and in the Czech Republic, with high volumes of beets processed on a daily basis during the 2016 campaign. Adjusted EBITDA before price complements increased by 34% from €146 million to €195 million, which reflects an increase in sugar prices in the second half of the financial year, the optimization of the sugar-ethanol mix, and the decrease in energy costs, as well as the benefits stemming from the performance plans. 
 
International Sugar 
Revenues of the Sugar International activities increased by 24%, rising from €1,066 million in 2015/2016 to €1,317 million in 2016/2017. This sharp rise was primarily due to the increase in world sugar prices and of the price of ethanol in Brazil. Lastly, the appreciation of the Brazilian Real against the Euro boosted revenues expressed in Euros. Revenues increased by 17%, excluding the currency effect. Adjusted EBITDA was up sharply (+50%) to €310 million compared with €207 million in 2015/2016 (+38% at constant exchange rates), thanks to the increase in prices, to the progress made on agricultural, industrial, and commercial performance in Brazil, to the optimization of the mix with a bias towards sugar, and to a higher contribution from co-generation.