KTG Agrar AG posts strong growth in H1 2013

KTG Agrar AG posts strong growth in H1 2013


- Total output up 71.3 percent to EUR 97 million; EBIT up 47.3 percent to EUR 12 million
- Growth driven by biogas and food segments
- Farmland holding hit the 40,000 hectare mark
- Profitable growth strategy: company keeps its sights firmly on quarter of a billion sales target to be reached within 2 to 3 years

Hamburg, 26 September 2013 - KTG Agrar AG (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) reports strong growth for the first half of 2013. Driven by all business segments - farming, biogas and food -, both sales and operating profit showed a clear upward trend. The first six months of 2013 saw the company raise its total output by 71.3 percent from EUR 56.6 million to EUR 97.0 million, with sales increasing by 116.2 percent from EUR 31.3 million to EUR 67.8 million. Operating profit advanced by 47.3 percent from EUR 8.2 million to EUR 12 million. 'We had a dynamic start to the year 2013. The massive investments made in recent years are now really coming on stream and paying off,' says Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar AG, adding 'The sale of the harvest in the second half of year will bump up our revenues even further.'

Given that the first six months are typically the weaker half of any year for this agricultural company, growth was primarily driven by the food and biogas business segments. The farming segment contributed EUR 6.7 million (H1 2012: EUR 4.8 million), including EUR 3.4 million and EUR 3.3 million from organic and conventional farming, respectively. The recent years' investments in the extension of the value chain from basic agriculture to food production once again had a highly positive effect, with the food segment's contribution rising by 284.9 percent from EUR 7.2 million to EUR 26.0 million. Revenues from the sale of environmentally friendly energy increased by 91.1 percent to EUR 26.1 million. The total grid-connected electrical capacity of the biogas plants operated by the subsidiary, KTG Energie Biogasanlagen, amounted to 41 megawatts (MW) on June 30, 2013, with six MW having been added since the start of the year.

Access to farmland is an essential success factor for any agricultural company. Farmland is a limited resource worldwide. It cannot be increased and its value will continue to rise, driven by unstoppable population growth and the growing need for energy in the future. At the end of June 2013, KTG Agrar had access to some 40,150 hectares of farmland, including 32,150 hectares in Germany. The company's farmland holdings in Lithuania amount to approximately 8,000 hectares. Some 9,950 hectares (including 5,300 in Germany) of the total farmland are owned by KTG Agrar, meaning that the ownership ratio has risen from 23 percent to 24.8 percent since the end of H1 2012. The non-owned farmland is used under long term leases.

Positive outlook: continued profitable growth through the rest of 2013

The development during the first half of the year shows that KTG Agrar's profitable growth strategy continues also in 2013. The contribution from the two growth drivers, Food and Biogas, will continue to rise. A state-of-the-art fresh produce facility is about to be commissioned in Linthe on the outskirts of Berlin, a conurbation which is home to 3.5 million consumers. The new centre will package fresh potatoes, carrots and onions. KTG Agrar also expects additional stimulation from the world-leading ANUGA food fair in early October; the group's exhibit will include its Frenzel and Bio-Zentrale brands. The food segment alone is envisaged to raise its sales to more than EUR 100 million within a few years. The biogas plants completed to date mean that the biogas segment will increase its sales to EUR 50 million already in the current year and growth is set to continue in this segment as well. The farming segment reports a good harvest overall. As a result of the well thought-out crop rotation schemes, the strong precipitation did not cause problems. Maize crops, in particular, were very gratifying this year. KTG Agrar is looking at continued growth also beyond the year 2013. Says Siegfried Hofreiter: 'We remain committed to our target of hitting a quarter of a billion euros in sales within the coming two or three years.'

The 2013 interim report will be published on the company's website at www.ktg-agrar.de on 30 September 2013.

About KTG Agrar
With cultivable land of more than 39,000 hectares, KTG Agrar AG (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) is one of the leading producers of agricultural commodities in Europe. As an integrated supplier, the company produces agricultural commodities and renewable energy and food. The Hamburg-based company's core area of expertise is the organic and traditional cultivation of market products such as cereals, maize and rapeseed. For organic market products KTG Agrar is the European market leader. The company mainly produces in Germany but has also operated production in the EU member state of Lithuania since 2005. As a result of the takeover of Frenzel Tiefkühlkost and Biozentrale Naturprodukte, KTG has expanded the value chain by the production of food. In the year 2012, KTG achieved a total output of EUR 168 million and EBIT of EUR 29.5 million. Since November 2007 the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and had 591 employees at year end 2012. Further information can be found at www.ktg-agrar.de.

Contact
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Fabian Lorenz
IR.on AG
Phone: +49 221 914097-6
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