KTG Agrar erneut mit Investmentgrade Rating ausgezeichnet

- BBB- rating
- Successful investments: farmland, biogas, food, staff
- Earnings phase has started

Hamburg, 27 November 2013 - KTG Agrar SE (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4), a German agricultural company, has again been awarded an investment grade rating from Creditreform Rating AG. In the annual update, KTG Agrar has been rated BBB-. So the KTG Agrar has again been certified with a satisfying financial strength in an above-average assessment compared to the industry and to the economy. 'Over the past years, we have made massive investments in the very substance of KTG Agrar while at the same time maintaining our excellent creditworthiness,' says Siegfried Hofreiter. 'Investments in agriculture, food production and biogas plants need time, but meanwhile we are increasingly reaping the fruits of these investments. Today KTG produces food for 1.5 million people and green energy for about 350,000 people in the heart of Europe.'

Investment phase largely completed
Since the issue of the first corporate bond in 2010, KTG Agrar has invested over EUR 150 million in its assets and built up considerable hidden reserves. The total arable land increased from 30,000 hectares to more than 40,000 hectares, with the percentage of own farmland rising from 18.7% to 23.7% during the same time. In addition, the renewable energy production capacity was increased almost fourfold from 11 megawatts to 41 megawatts, and KTG Agrar's subsidiary, KTG Energie AG, was taken public. In parallel to the investments in farmland and biogas, KTG Agrar effectively extended its value chain by adding a food production segment. The latter is composed of Frenzel Tiefkühlkost and Biozentrale Naturprodukte, two strong brands operating in the conventional and organic food sector, which have successfully been integrated into the Group. Both companies have returned to growth and will complete the operational turnaround in 2014. In response to high demand, an additional processing plant for KTG crops in Manschnow, east of Berlin, was rented in October, with KTG Agrar holding a purchase option. Moreover, KTG acquired Ölmühle Anklam and established a state-of-the-art fresh produce processing centre for sorting and packaging vegetables in Linthe near Berlin. 2013 also saw the company develop a new food brand, 'die Landwirte', which was presented at the ANUGA trade fair, where it convinced a leading German retailer, who will list the brand starting 2014.

Says Siegfried Hofreiter: 'We primarily invest and grow in the rural area and thus create jobs in structurally weak regions.' Between June 2010 and today, the company's headcount increased from 200 to over 800.

Earnings phase has started
Thanks to the massive investments, sales revenues and earnings have been growing increasingly dynamically. The KTG Group is now working to optimise the synergies between the individual units and will make additional selective investments. In this context, KTG Agrar has set itself a clearly defined target, namely to pass the EUR 0.25 billion sales mark no later than 2015 (2012 sales: EUR 110 million). The company is well on track to reach this target, with sales revenues in the high-margin biogas segment alone projected to increase from EUR 32 million to EUR 50 million in 2013. The food segment is also expected to grow strongly and to generate revenues in excess of EUR 100 million in two to three years' time. The other business segments will also continue to show a positive performance.

About KTG Agrar
With cultivable land of more than 40,000 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
Investor Relations / Presse
Fabian Lorenz
IR.on AG
Phone: +49 221 914097-6
E-mail: fabian.lorenz@ir-on.com