Madrid / ES. (epg) On a difficult scenario for the world food trade, shaken up by the strong hike in raw material prices, the evolution of the Ebro Puleva Group was nevertheless positive, maintaining the overall yield of the company above the estimates announced in October, achieving significant organic growth in the rice and pasta divisions and strengthening its leadership on all the markets on which it operates. In particular, EBITDA was up 0,25 percent to 306,7 million EUR and turnover was up nine percent year on year to 2’685 million EUR.
EBIT, or net operating profit, stood at 207 million EUR and the investment in advertising, in accordance with the strategy of building value around our brands, was stepped up by 17 million EUR, 24,6 percent more than in 2006.
The Consolidated Profit on a Going Concern basis totalled 92,5 million EUR, just 28 percent less than the previous year, despite the recording during the year of all the impacts of the sugar reform, and despite the fact that, as announced in the Outlook, the 2006 profit included 60 million EUR from the sale of businesses in Central America.
It should be noted that by the end of 2007, thanks to the strong cash generation over the twelve-month period, Ebro Puleva had reduced its debt by 146.6 million year on year, down twelve percent.
True to its commitment to maintain an active shareholder remuneration policy, the Ebro Puleva Group distributed over 55 million EUR in dividends. The earnings per share (EPS) was 0,36 EUR.
The Group also continued to consolidate its already predominant international nature during 2007, its international businesses now accounting for 53,2 percent of the consolidated EBITDA. Apart from the important work done by the European and American companies, launching new products in the Meal Solutions segment, new offices were also opened in Romania and the Ukraine, Panzani and Riviana increased their market shares in France and the USA, respectively, and the Group´s activities were expanded to the Baltic States following the acquisition of Birkel in Germany.
Rice: Thanks to the timely strategy of diversifying supplies undertaken last year and intense marketing activity based on the launching of new products and healthy concepts, the sugar division posted record results during the year. Its EBITDA was 35 percent up on the previous year, at 96 million EUR, while its turnover rose 11 percent to 771 million EUR.
Pasta: In a setting hard hit by the hike in durum wheat prices, the pasta division achieved a positive evolution, underpinned by the launching of new functional pastas in Europe and North America, a sound advertising policy and the integration of Birkel from October. Sales grew by 30 percent to 775 million EUR while EBITDA, slightly dented by the impact of the higher raw material prices, slipped four percent to 88,5 million EUR.
Dairy: Although the satisfactory evolution of some of the categories in the dairy division was somewhat dampened by the steep rise in raw milk prices, it also reveals the credibility and strong position on the market of the Puleva brand. As these price rises were fully passed on to the end product, the division EBITDA came down just four percent, to 53 million EUR. The EBITDA / sales margin of this division is 10 percent and its turnover grew 4,6 percent to 527 million EUR.
Sugar: The business of the sugar division has been affected by the large sugar stocks, which forced prices down. The group also had 130,000 tonnes less sugar than in 2006 (25.000 tonnes corresponding to reduced quota and 105.000 tonnes to the disappearance of Intervention and surplus sugar). Against this difficult backdrop and in a year in which the European sugar market has endured a severe decline, our sugar division has achieved a significant EBITDA of 80 million EUR. With the forthcoming conclusion of the sugar reform, we anticipate a more stable, more positive scenario for this business.
Other divisions: In the area of biotechnology, the turnover of Puleva Biotech grew by 27 percent to 10,2 million EUR; 47 percent of which corresponds to the sale of Eupoly Omega 3. But the most important milestone of this division was the recent acquisition of Exxentia, marking the commencement of a new phase for the company, with increased size and commercial vision, greater independence from the Group and a better standing on the stock market.
