The international trade and services company BayWa AG generated revenues of around €15.3 billion in the financial year 2016, thereby posting a slight increase (2015: €14.9 billion). However, the persistently difficult agricultural markets in the past year pushed down earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). In 2016, the Group generated EBIT of €144.7 million (2015: €158.1 million).
The Fruit and Energy business units once again developed particularly well in the reporting year. The building materials business also developed positively. By contrast, agricultural trade was significantly influenced in 2016 by the situation on global agricultural markets, which remained tense.
A comfortable supply situation with agricultural commodities worldwide intensified the pressure on prices. Changing forecasts for the most important agricultural commodities, some of them contradictory, led to extreme volatility in certain instances, such as in international soya trading, and had a negative impact on the entire industry.
“BayWa was also unable to escape this trend, meaning that the agriculture business was not able to live up to the expectations. Once again, however, we benefited from our broad footing within the Group. In particular, the international fruit business and renewable energies posted very favourable development and had a positive effect on total earnings,” said Klaus Josef Lutz, Chief Executive Officer of BayWa AG, confirming his expectations regarding the Group’s conglomerate structure.
Lutz took an optimistic view of the current financial year: “The positive prospects overall, in agricultural trade as well, lead us to expect significant increases in earnings again in 2017.”
Lutz announced that the Board of Management of BayWa AG would propose to the Supervisory Board keeping the Group’s dividend stable and paying €0.85 per share – the same dividend paid for 2015.
BayWa AG will publish detailed figures along with its balance sheet on 30 March 2017.
For more information:
Marion Danneboom
BayWa
Tel: +49 0 89 9222 3680