Annual Report 2024/25

Dear Shareholders, 

In our core sugar business, fluctuations remain a constant challenge, as the market traditionally reacts very sensitively to factors such as production volumes, demand and supply conditions both in Europe and around the world. Periods of exceptionally high sugar prices are often followed by downturns – unfortunately, this was also the case in the 2024/25 fiscal year: This year, we faced a severe decline in the market price for sugar accompanied by weakening demand, the scale of which was unforeseen. Sales of prior-year volumes, produced at high manufacturing costs primarily due to elevated energy prices and raw material costs, further burdened our result. Consequently, it became unavoidable to significantly lower our group’s earnings forecast in the fall of 2024; this development ultimately led to a negative result in the sugar segment at the fiscal year-end. Given similarly sharp declines in earnings in the CropEnergies and starch segments, a moderate increase in earnings in the special products segment and significant increases in the fruit segment, we can at best describe the 2024/25 fiscal year as “mixed”.