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

Sugar segmentOverviewThe figures for the sugar segment relate to SüdzuckerAG, Südzucker GmbH and Südzucker International,Saint Louis Sucre, Raffinerie Tirlemontoise Group andAGRANA Group sugar activities. The segment alsoincludes the agricultural and feedstuffs divisions.Key figures for the sugar segment2002/03 2001/02Sales D million 3,359 2,758Operating profit D million 397 328Operating margin % 11.8 11.9ROCE % 10.9 13.3Capital expenditures D million 135 102Investments in financial assets D million 31 1,610There were a total of 42 (45) sugar factories in thesugar group in 2002/03, of which 2 were cane sugarrefineries. The number of works in the EuropeanUnion fell to 25 (28) following the closure of twofactories in Germany and the sale of one sugarfactory in Belgium. The group has 17 (17) factoriesin Eastern Europe. The 14 sugar factories in Polandacquired in April 2003 are not included in thesefigures.Sugar beet processed throughout the group rose bysome 19 % to 29.7 million tonnes (25.0 milliontonnes), with an increase in the European Union ofsome 17 % to 25.7 million tonnes (22.0 million tonnes)despite the sale of the Veurne factory, wherebygrowth was mainly due to higher beet crops inGermany and France. The increase in eastern Europeto 4.0 million tonnes (3.0 million tonnes) of beet isabove all due to acquisitions in Poland. The sugarcontent throughout the group was 17.23 % (16.77 %),whereby the rate in eastern Europe was some2 percentage points below the EU content. Sugarproduction throughout the group rose by 17 % to4.7 million tonnes (4.0 million tonnes), due to thegreater quantity of beet processed and higher sugarcontent. Due to measures taken to improve the worksstructure as well as the increased sugar beet harvest,it was possible to considerably prolong the campaignperiod. Sugar beet processing lasted an average of92 days (75 days) within the EU group and 71 days(63 days) in Eastern Europe.There were 12 (14) sugar factories in operation inGermany for the 2002/03 campaign. The Löbau worksis included in these figures, but was closed after the2002 campaign. A total of 9 (7) factories areallocated to Südzucker International in easternEurope, of which 6 (3) are located in Poland and 3 (4)in Moldova. The agricultural and feedstuffs divisions,Bodengesundheitsdienst (BGD) fertilizationconsultancy and REKO Erdenvertrieb GmbHcomposting works in Regensburg and Plattling arealso directly allocated to Südzucker AG.Following the sale of the Veurne sugar factory,Raffinerie Tirlemontoise, Belgium has 4 (5) sugarfactories located in Belgium. Saint Louis Sucre,France, which was acquired in 2001, has 5 sugarfactories and one cane sugar refinery operating inthe traditional sugar area in France. SLS also hasactivities in eastern Europe via its investment inEastern Sugar. AGRANA Group, Austria operates atotal of 11 (13) sugar factories, of which 3 (3) arelocated in Austria and 8 (10) in Romania, Slovakia,The Czech Republic and Hungary.Group sugar productionin million tonnes2000/01 3.52001/02 4.02002/03 4.7F-58