Finnish group Raisio, which owns brands from Benecol butter to Honey Monster cereals, pointed to an improvement in its EBIT as it reported a second-quarter loss.
The company today (14 August) posted a loss of EUR2.4m (US$2.9m) thanks to financial costs of EUR10.7m.
However, Raisio's EBIT increased 3.9% to EUR10.6m as better profitability and higher sales from its branded division offset a weaker performance from its agribusiness unit.
Total sales were flat at EUR150.6m.
Chief executive Matti Rihko said: "Raisio's second quarter went as expected. [The] brands division's net sales growth and profitability developed in accordance with the objective. In the UK, business performance has been enhanced to meet the level of major branded houses.
"In the first half of 2012, Raisioagro's new business model and extended product range were well received by customers. In June, we started sales of Neste Oil's liquid fuels. In addition to feeds, Raisio's goal is to provide Finnish grain and livestock farms with sufficiently wide range of the most common farming supplies at competitive prices. We are looking for new solutions to the profitability problem in vegetable oil crushing."
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Published: 2012-08-14 07:30:02 CEST
Raisio plc Interim Report 14 August 2012 at 8:30 Finnish time
RAISIO’S EBIT IMPROVED
April-June 2012, continuing operations excluding one-off items
Net sales totalled EUR 150.6 (Q2/2011: EUR 150.5 million).
EBIT EUR 10.6 million (Q2/2011: EUR 10.2 million) accounting for 7.1% (6.8%) of net sales.
Good profitability for the Brands Division, EBIT 12.8% (10.3%) of net sales.
Raisioagro’s EBIT remains weak due to market conditions in feed protein business.
Redemption process of Raisio UK’s non-controlling interest in the final stage.
Chief Executive’s review
"Raisio’s second quarter went as expected. Brands Division’s net sales growth and profitability developed in accordance with the objective. In the UK, business performance has been enhanced to meet the level of major branded houses.
"In the first half of 2012, Raisioagro’s new business model and extended product range were well received by customers. In June, we started sales of Neste Oil's liquid fuels. In addition to feeds, Raisio’s goal is to provide Finnish grain and livestock farms with sufficiently wide range of the most common farming supplies at competitive prices. We are looking for new solutions to the profitability problem in vegetable oil crushing.
"Raisio continues implementing its growth phase. This can be seen in our activeness on the acquisition front and in closer integration of the acquired companies. Our growth also brings added value to owners. Our acquisitions have been successful and the acquired companies are now in better shape than they were at the time of acquisition."
Guidance unchanged
Raisio continues the implementation of its growth strategy both organically and through acquisitions. We expect EBIT to further improve annually.
Original source: Raisio
