KTG Agrar SE benefits from strongly growing demand for regionally produced food

KTG Agrar SE benefits from strongly growing demand for regionally produced food

Hamburg, 10 February 2014. As many as 92 percent of Germany's consumers prefer to buy regional food - this is the remarkable result of the representative 'Ökobarometer' study conducted on behalf of the Federal Agriculture Ministry, according to which 'regionality' is an increasingly important criterion when buying food. Not surprisingly, therefore, farmers are trusted most (54 percent) when it comes to the quality of food, according to a study conducted by the 'Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach'. By comparison, food retailers achieve a score of 21 percent.

Because of these trends, the agricultural company KTG Agrar SE (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) has invested in the extension of its value chain under the 'from field to plate' strategy for the past three years. The recent FRUIT LOGISTICA trade fair in Berlin once again confirmed the success of this expansion strategy, which is increasingly paying off for the company. 'Consumers and, hence, food retailers want regional products,' says Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar SE. 'We invested at the right time and can now offer a complete range of local products - from fresh potatoes to tasty convenience meals and muesli to GM-free soy oil - all made from a single source and covered by a unique quality guarantee.'

At the FRUIT LOGISTICA fair, the KTG Group and its top brand, 'DieLandwirte', presented a diverse range of products such as potatoes and onions fresh from local fields - both packed in innovative boxes. Launched in autumn 2013, the brand has been met with great interest in the market. At the end of the first quarter of 2014, the first products will be available in several thousand branches of two leading German food retailers. Having harvested potatoes, onions and carrots on some 700 hectares in 2013, KTG Agrar intends to increase the area used for cultivation to clearly in excess of 1,000 hectares this season.

Today, KTG Agrar cultivates over 40,000 hectares of farmland in east Germany and Lithuania, with organic farming on about half of this area. The company increasingly processes its organic and conventional produce such as grain, maize, soy beans and vegetables internally. For this purpose, KTG Agrar has effectively expanded its capacities since 2011 by taking over Ölmühle Anklam as well as strong brands such as 'Frenzel' and 'biozentrale'. In addition, the company's state-of-the-art fresh produce facility in Linthe, in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg, was completed last autumn, just in time for the 2014 season. Located just outside of Berlin, the new facility packages up to 400 tons of vegetables per day for delivery to central markets, processors - such as KTG subsidiary Frenzel Tiefkühlkost - and food retailers in the region. A single digit million euro amount was invested in the new facility.

Says Siegfried Hofreiter: 'After making investments and acquisitions in the food sector, we have made good progress in optimising the workflows and processes within the KTG Group. We are now reaping the fruits in the form of strongly growing revenues and earnings.' The Food segment is expected to contribute roughly EUR 100 million to the KTG Group's total sales revenues in 2014 - which would be equivalent to 500 percent growth in the course of only two years - and to generate a clearly positive result. Besides the German market, the company also plans to expand the international distribution of its quality products.

About KTG Agrar SE
With cultivable land of more than 40,000 hectares, KTG Agrar SE (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