DGAP-News: BayWa AG / Key word(s): Final Results BayWa AG: Business figures 2014: Satisfactory result in extremely difficult agricultural year - increase anticipated for 2015 26.03.2015 / 10:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- BayWa AG: Business figures 2014: Satisfactory result in extremely difficult agricultural year - increase anticipated for 2015 After a financial year shaped by an extremely tough climate in the agricultural trade market, BayWa succeeded in generating "a satisfactory result", summarised Chief Executive Officer Klaus Josef Lutz at the Annual Results Press Conference of the international trading and services group. The BayWa Group reported revenues of EUR15.2 billion in the financial year 2014 (2013: EUR16 billion). The Agriculture, Energy and Building Materials Segments generated operating EBIT of EUR186.4 million in 2014 (2013: EUR195.6 million). Including non-operating influence factors, EBIT totalled EUR147 million (2013: EUR222 million). This major difference to the previous year's EBIT is primarily due to one-off effects in 2013 resulting from accounting profits from major property sales. "A lower oil price, an extremely mild winter and, above all, record-breaking harvests and sharp falls in fruit and grain prices impacted our result", said Chief Executive Officer Lutz at the presentation of the 2014 business figures. BayWa has been able to recover ground, Lutz continued, thanks to an extremely positive result in regenerative energies and in agricultural equipment business, together with a strong fourth quarter. "This result would not have been possible without our international expansion, as almost 44% of our operating EBIT originated from international growth business," emphasised Lutz. "We are now looking firmly to the future," Lutz continued. So far in 2015, development in agricultural trade points to a noticeable improvement. "We intend to match the progress made in previous years by further expanding our international business both in the agricultural sector and in renewable energies," Lutz said. As part of the steady rise in dividend distribution, the BayWa Board of Management and Supervisory Board will propose to increase the dividend from EUR0.75 to EUR0.80 per share. This would mean that the dividend has doubled since 2009. Agriculture business shaped by price drops In the Agriculture Segment, revenues in the financial year 2014 stood at EUR10.1 billion (2013: EUR10.7 billion). EBIT came to EUR113.4 million (2013: EUR123.5 million). In agricultural trade and fruit trade, the financial year was dominated by a sharp fall in produce prices, as harvests of both grain and fruit were extremely high worldwide. Fruit trade in Germany was also impacted by the Russian embargo on Polish apples. Low prices had a corresponding effect on margins. In contrast to the rest of the industry, agricultural equipment continued to develop positively. Agricultural trade generated revenues of EUR8.2 billion (2013: EUR8.9 billion). EBIT stood at EUR65.1 million (2013: EUR80.4 million). The BayWa Group sold some 26.8 million tonnes of grain, oilseed and oilseed meal in the financial year 2014. This equates to a year-on-year increase of approximately 5%. Revenues in the Fruit business unit came to EUR563.9 million in 2014 (2013: EUR567.7 million). EBIT rose to EUR25.6 million (2013: EUR21.6 million). This major rise was predominantly due to the New Zealand company Apollo Apples Limited, which was acquired at the end of 2014. Agricultural equipment generated a slight rise in revenues in 2014, which stood at EUR1.31 billion (2013: EUR1.29 billion). EBIT rose to EUR22.7 million (2013: EUR21.4 million). Agricultural equipment business developed positively in comparison with the rest of the industry, as BayWa was successful in positioning new products and services on the market, particularly in the area of indoor equipment (farm equipment and systems). Regenerative energies experience considerable growth The Energy Segment generated revenues of EUR3.5 billion in the financial year 2014 (2013: EUR3.5 billion) and EBIT of EUR42.3 million (2013: EUR45.1 million). The mild winter, coupled with drastic fall in oil prices, impacted revenues and EBIT in BayWa's conventional energy business significantly in the financial year 2014. By contrast, the lubricants business developed positively, recording an increase in sales of almost 8%. In the areas of conventional energy, the overall price trend caused heating oil and fuel revenues to fall to EUR2.7 billion (2013: EUR3.0 billion). EBIT stood at EUR5.8 million (2013: EUR10.6 million). By contrast, the Renewable Energies business experienced extremely positive development, making a major contribution to the success of the Energy Segment on account of its international orientation. Despite some difficult conditions in some national markets, planned output rose once again in the past year by over 70% to around 378 megawatts (MW). Of this amount, almost 220 MW was attributed to solar power plants, approximately 152 MW to wind power plants and 6.4 MW to biomass. A large number of complete systems were successfully sold: BayWa r.e. sold 11 photovoltaic plants in Europe, while 6 wind power plants could be sold in Europe and the USA. BayWa r.e. will be taking responsibility for future technical operations of all sold photovoltaic and wind power plants; it also handles commercial business operations and maintenance for the lion's share of the plants. Revenues in the Renewable Energies business sector increased by over 60% to EUR786.2 million (2013: EUR485.9 million). EBIT improved to EUR36.5 million (2013: EUR34.5 million). Building Materials Segment benefits from restructuring In the area of building materials, the financial year 2014 was characterised by extremely varying development in each quarter. At the beginning of the year, the exceptionally mild weather led to an unusually early and dynamic start to the season. Momentum was then lost over the rest of the year. Winter failed to arrive in many parts of Southern Germany and Saxony, which is where BayWa's building materials activities are concentrated since the sale of its locations in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate in the summer of 2014, allowing construction work to continue well into the fourth quarter of 2014. This was reflected in the 2014 business figures. Revenues in the segment declined by EUR1.5 billion in 2014 (2013: EUR1.7 billion) even though sales increased in core regions. This was due to the fact that the previous year's figures included contributions from the building materials locations sold in the financial year 2014. These activities were attributed to Other Activities in the reporting year due to the intended sale. EBIT was increased to EUR30.7 million (2013: EUR27 million). Contact: Marion Danneboom, BayWa AG, Head of PR/Corporate Communications, tel. +49 (0)89/92 22-36 80, Fax +49 (0)89/92 22-36 98, e-mail: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------- 26.03.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: BayWa AG Arabellastraße 4 81925 München Germany Phone: 089/ 9222-3691 Fax: 089/ 9222-3698 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.baywa.de ISIN: DE0005194062, DE0005194005, WKN: 519406, 519400, Indices: SDAX Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Munich; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 337703 26.03.2015