KTG Agrar generates record result in 2009
- Total output up by approx. 24% to EUR 60 million
- Increase in earnings: EBIT +22% and net income +30%
- Biogas will drive growth in 2010 and 2011
Hamburg, 3 May 2010 – KTG Agrar AG (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) continued to grow in 2009. Total output increased by 24% from EUR 48.2 million to EUR 60 million. The company’s earnings rose significantly as well; earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) climbed to EUR 9.2 million, up 22% on the previous year’s EUR 7.5 million. KTG Agrar’s consolidated net income rose by 30% from EUR 4.3 million to EUR 5.6 million. “Our result in these challenging economic times testifies to the sustainability of our business model,” says Siegfried Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar. “The cultivation of agricultural resources and the integrated production of renewable energy mean that we benefit from mega trends.”
The world population increases by about 80 million people per year, the consumption of meat in the emerging countries is growing constantly and energy requirements are rising steadily. Demand for organic food also remains high. As a result, all core business segments contributed to the company’s growth. Sales revenues from the sale of organic food crops soared by 77.9% to EUR 5.9 million. Sales revenues from the sale of conventional grain, maize and rapeseed amounted to EUR 12.1 million, up 59.4% on the previous year. KTG Agrar benefited from low supplies prices. Says Siegfried Hofreiter: “We purchased diesel and fertiliser at the right time, which allowed us to offset the lower selling prices of agricultural resources.”
The biogas segment was expanded significantly as well. With the twelfth plant taken into service at the end of 2008, plants with a total rated electrical output of approx. 8 MW operated under full load through the year 2009. Revenues from the sale of the energy generated amounted to EUR 12.7 million, up 38.9% on the previous year.
The company’s farmland today totals approx. 30,500 hectares - this is equivalent to the size of 41,000 soccer pitches. Of the total, some 5,700 hectares are owned by KTG Agrar. With this total amount auf farmland the company has reached an important mark, which allows it to exploit economies of scale in purchasing and sales. KTG Agrar will continue to expand its farmland going forward. In 2010 and 2011, however, investments will focus on the biogas segment. It not only offers stable cash flows and an EBIT margin of over 20% but also benefits from an ideal environment at present. Under the German Renewable Energy Sources Act, biogas plant operators benefit from a guaranteed fixed grid feeding compensation for 20 years. “We aim to operate biogas plants with a combined capacity of 20 megawatts by the year 2012,” says Dr. Thomas R.G. Berger, Management Board member of KTG Agrar and responsible for the biogas segment. “This capacity would allow sales revenues in this segment alone to more than double to roughly EUR 30 million.” KTG Agrar has already taken a major step towards this target, as a 3.2 MW biogas plant was taken into service at the end of 2009. Therefore KTG Agrar has currently 11.2 MW on the grid. The next plant with approx. 3 MW is currently under construction. Another 5 sites are already at an advanced planning stage. The strong equity capital base is the foundation for the investments. In the year 2009 the equity capital increased by EUR 12.5 million to EUR 51.7 million. At present the company has a equity capital of more than EUR 60 million.
KTG Agrar is set for growth. Says Siegfried Hofreiter: “Our investments will pay off at the operational level already this year.” The company plans to increase both total output and EBIT in 2010. The above-average margin in the biogas segment will have a positive effect on the Group as a whole.