Südzucker International Finance B. V. Südzucker AG ... - Xetra

Foreword by the executive boardSüdzucker has a call option on 15 % of KWS shares with Bayer CropScience. As, byantitrust law, Südzucker cannot currently increase its holding in KWS above 25 %, it hassold in advance the same number of KWS shares from its existing holding.The special products segment, which provides almost a quarter of group sales, alsoprogressed well. This segment’s success is based on a strong customer orientation, aworldwide presence with a global marketing network and a highly-qualified, applicationsbasedadvisory service. The segment’s products are met in many walks of life, mostly asadditives in high-quality foodstuffs, but also as frozen foods such as pizzas, as portionpackarticles in catering, or as non-food, starch-based products. Based on our high levelof innovation in this area we also expect double-digit growth in the medium term. Inorder to achieve this goal, we have combined Palatinit and ORAFTI organizationally toform a functional food products division. Hence, potential synergies from theiroverlapping customer base as well as in the research area can be better utilized. As wellas maintaining the body’s performance, functional food products also have a beneficialeffect on health and are increasingly seen as a way of improving the quality of life. Inorder to take advantage of this trend, Südzucker has developed a high level ofcompetence in evaluating the physiological requirements in food, particularly alsoregarding emotional views of foodstuffs. The key products for establishing a leadingmarket position in this segment are Isomalt, the sugar-free sweetener extracted from sugarbeet, and RAFTILINE® and RAFTILOSE®, obtained from chicory root.Constant innovation is also the key to our success in the starch division, where we areoccupying new and interesting market niches.This also applies to our Portion Pack Europe (PPE) activities, with portion-pack itemssupplied to the catering industry and wholesalers. Synergies have been extracted followingthe acquisition of Cocachoc, the Belgium company, and PPE became market leader inthe chocolate and biscuit portion-pack segment.When viewing the broad base of Südzucker group’s operations, it is clear that focussingon our core competencies was a step forward, freeing existing resources within thegroup to find their full potential.We are intensively examining the potential for producing bio-ethanol for use as a fuel,and this could develop into a new business activity. The raw materials would be sugarF-48