EANS-News: AGRANA improves operating profit in third quarter of 2015|16 and confirms full-year forecast, with EBIT up slightly from prior year

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9-month report

Group revenue of AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG was steady in the first nine
months of the 2015|16 financial year at EUR 1,908.0 million (Q1-Q3
prior year: EUR 1,914.4 million). While profit for the period, at EUR
108.8 million in the first three quarters, was still off 12.5%
year-on-year, EBIT in the third quarter was already up 7.2% from one
year earlier.

As AGRANA Chief Executive Officer Johann Marihart explains, "the
first nine months of the financial year continued to be characterised
by difficult conditions in the sugar market. Although selling prices
did not fall further, they remained low, weighing on revenue and
earnings. Nonetheless, we were already able to bring the Sugar
segment's EBIT back into positive territory from the second quarter,
and for the full year as well Sugar EBIT should be at least neutral
or slightly above, as a result of higher sales volumes. In the Starch
segment we achieved a strong improvement in profitability from the
prior-year period thanks especially to higher ethanol prices. Our
third segment, Fruit, is also showing a solid overall business
performance, driven by a positive trend in the fruit preparations
division and despite lower results in the fruit juice concentrate
division. These results once again prove the effectiveness of our
strategy of diversification into three pillars for balancing out the
effects of fluctuating business conditions across the segments."

Net financial items of the AGRANA Group in the first three quarters
of 2015|16 amounted to a net expense of EUR 16.3 million (Q1-Q3 prior
year: net expense of EUR 12.7 million); the year-on-year difference
resulted primarily from net currency translation losses (Q1-Q3 prior
year: net translation gains). After an income tax expense of EUR 21.6
million, corresponding to a tax rate of approximately 23.4% (Q1-Q3
prior year: 27.3%), profit for the period was EUR 70.8 million (Q1-Q3
prior year: EUR 81.2 million). Earnings per share attributable to
AGRANA shareholders were EUR 4.97 (Q1-Q3 prior year: EUR 5.39).

Net debt as of 30 November 2015 was EUR 449.0 million (28 February
2015: EUR 330.3 million). Total assets saw a minor increase to EUR
2.44 billion compared with 28 February 2015, and the equity ratio was
steady at 49.7%. The gearing ratio rose to 37.0% as of the quarterly
balance sheet date (28 February 2015: 27.7%).

AGRANA consolidated financial results for first three quarters of
2015|16 (1 March to 30 November 2015)* EUR million, except %

Q1-3 2015|16 Q1-3 2014|15
Revenue 1,908.0 1,914.4
EBITDA** 154.1 168.2
Operating profit before exceptional items*** 90.8 108.0
Share of results of equity-accounted joint ventures 19.7 20.1
Exceptional items (1.7) (3.7)
Operating profit (EBIT) 108.8 124.4
EBIT margin 5.7% 6.5%
Net financial items (16.3) (12.7)
Income tax (21.6) (30.5)
Profit for the period 70.8 81.2
Investment**** 78.8 62.5

Q3 2015|16 Q3 2014|15
Revenue 644.5 629.2
EBITDA** 61.0 55.0
Operating profit before exceptional items*** 32.8 29.8
Share of results of equity-accounted joint ventures 7.7 7.2
Exceptional items (0.4) 0.4
Operating profit (EBIT) 40.1 37.4
EBIT margin 6.2% 5.9%
Net financial items (5.1) (4.6)
Income tax (8.0) (11.8)
Profit for the period 26.9 21.0
Investment**** 38.0 23.9

*All prior-year data have been restated under IAS 8 **EBITDA
represents operating profit before exceptional items, results of
equity-accounted joint ventures, and operating depreciation and
amortisation ***Operating profit before exceptional items and results
of equity-accounted joint ventures ****Investment represents
purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets,
excluding goodwill

Sugar segment
EUR million, except %

Q1-3 2015|16 Q1-3 2014|15
Revenue 540.5 563.4
Operating profit (EBIT) 10.4 29.0
EBIT margin 1.9% 5.2%

Q3 2015|16 Q3 2014|15
Revenue 195.5 185.3
Operating profit (EBIT) 4.0 0.9
EBIT margin 2.1% 0.5%

Sugar segment revenue in the first three quarters of 2015|16 declined
slightly, easing by 4.1% year-on-year to EUR 540.5 million. Lower
sugar selling prices were partly offset by higher sales volumes of
quota sugar, especially to industrial customers. As expected amid the
pressure on sugar prices, the segment's EBIT of EUR 10.4 million came
in significantly below the year-ago result. However, EBIT improved in
the third quarter, reflecting primarily the year-on-year reduction in
raw sugar costs and the higher sales quantities.

Starch segment
EUR million, except %

Q1-3 2015|16 Q1-3 2014|15
Revenue 544.0 535.4
Operating profit (EBIT) 52.9 45.6
EBIT margin 9.7% 8.5%

Q3 2015|16 Q3 2014|15
Revenue 191.3 184.2
Operating profit (EBIT) 21.8 20.4
EBIT margin 11.4% 11.1%

Revenue in the Starch segment in the first nine months of 2015|16 was
EUR 544.0 million, or 1.6% above the value for the prior-year
comparative period. Among other areas, the revenue growth was
achieved in the bioethanol business, which benefited from higher
selling prices, and in wet starch derivatives, thanks to higher sales
volumes. EBIT of EUR 52.9 million significantly surpassed the year-
earlier amount, by 16.0%. This operating profit growth was driven
above all by the improved prices of ethanol; also, average raw
material costs for the Starch segment as a whole eased slightly
year-on-year.

Fruit segment
EUR million, except %

Q1-3 2015|16 Q1-3 2014|15
Revenue 823.5 815.6
Operating profit (EBIT) 45.5 49.8
EBIT margin 5.5% 6.1%

Q3 2015|16 Q3 2014|15
Revenue 257.7 259.7
Operating profit (EBIT) 14.3 16.1
EBIT margin 5.6% 6.2%

Fruit segment revenue in the first three quarters of 2015|16 was EUR
823.5 million, in line with the good year-earlier period. In the
fruit preparations business the revenue growth of almost 9% resulted
from increased sales volumes and prices. The fruit juice concentrate
business, on the other hand, was impacted by the low apple juice
concentrate prices from the 2014 harvest and registered a revenue
decrease of about 20% year-on-year. This also made itself felt in
EBIT for the segment as a whole, which declined by 8.6% from one year
earlier to EUR 45.5 million despite a significant improvement in
fruit preparations EBIT.

Outlook AGRANA continues to expect Group revenue to remain steady in
the 2015|16 financial year. For operating profit (EBIT) the Group is
projecting slight growth year-on-year in view of a combination of
increased price expectations for bioethanol, lower raw material
prices and an at least neutral earnings result in the Sugar segment.
In the 2015|16 financial year the AGRANA Group's total investment
will be about EUR 112 million, thus exceeding depreciation of just
under EUR 90 million.

About AGRANA AGRANA converts agricultural raw materials into
high-quality foods and numerous industrial intermediate products.
About 9,000 employees at more than 50 production sites worldwide
generate annual Group sales of around EUR 2.5 billion. Established in
1988, the company today is the leading sugar producer in Central and
Eastern Europe, and its Starch segment is both a major European
manufacturer of specialty products and the largest producer of
bioethanol in Austria. AGRANA is also the world market leader in
fruit preparations and Europe's largest maker of fruit juice
concentrates.

This announcement is available in German and English at
www.agrana.com.

Further inquiry note:
AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG

Mag.(FH) Hannes Haider
Investor Relations
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12905
e-mail:hannes.haider@agrana.com

Mag.(FH) Markus Simak
Pressesprecher
Tel.: +43-1-211 37-12084
e-mail: markus.simak@agrana.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

company: AGRANA Beteiligungs-AG
F.-W.-Raiffeisen-Platz 1
A-1020 Wien
phone: +43-1-21137-0
FAX: +43-1-21137-12926
mail: info.ab@agrana.com
WWW: www.agrana.com
sector: Food
ISIN: AT0000603709
indexes: WBI, ATX Prime
stockmarkets: Präsenzhandel: Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, official market: Wien
language: English