During the 2010 financial year the Group's consolidated sales increased by 10.7% from €436.8 million at 31 December 2009 to €483.6 million at 31 December 2010.
Sales for the deep-frozen vegetable division amounted to €245.2 million during the 2010 financial year, representing 50.7% of total sales. The increase in sales of 9.3% in this division compared to last year is primarily due to the organic growth of PinguinLutosa in 2010. Volumes sold in the deep-frozen vegetable division actually rose by 10.8% during the past year.
The potato division was responsible for €238.4 million of the sales during the 2010 financial year. This represented 49.3% of total sales. Sales in the potato division increased by 12.2% compared to the 2009 financial year. This increase can be mainly attributed to the higher sales volume (+13.8%) during 2010.
Results PinguinLutosa
The operating result (EBIT) amounts to €7.3 million per 31 December 2010, compared to €15.0 million per 31 December 2009. The EBIT-margin (compared to operating income) now amounts to 1.5%, compared to 3.4% in December 2009.
The recurring operating cash flow (REBITDA) shows a similar pattern, and now amounts to €25.9 million compared to €36.1 million in the prior year. The REBITDA now constitutes 5.4% of the operating income, which is a decline compared to last year (8.1%).
As per 31 December 2010, the recurring operating cash flow (REBITDA) of the deep-frozen vegetable division amounted to €15.3 million, which is a decrease of €3.2 million compared to the previous year. The decrease in recurring operating cash flow can mainly be ascribed to the planned lower production that lessened the margin improvements which had resulted from lower raw material prices.
As per 31 December 2010, the recurring operating cash flow (REBITDA) of the potato division amounted to €10.6 million compared to €17.6 million during the previous year (€-6.9 million). The decline in the REBITDA is primarily attributable to the strong rise in the raw material prices that could not be recovered quickly enough via the higher selling prices. The price increases originate from the difficult harvest conditions in autumn with rain and frost and are reinforced further by the large demand for fresh potatoes from Russia.
An improved product mix, further optimisation of the supply chain and continuous control of costs were able to compensate for those price pressures to a great extent, though not entirely.
Financial Result PinguinLutosa
At the end of December 2010 the financial result amounts to €-4.7 million compared to €-8.0 million for the same period last year. The improvement of the financial result is primarily due to the decline of interest charges and the positive change of the fair value of the financial instruments (IRS). PinguinLutosa's strategy is to hedge part of the interest rate and exchange rate risks. The effect of foreign exchange rates on trade receivables and payables have been included in the financial results but owe to operational activities.
Information represented here from the financial report of PinguinLutosa was selected based on general relevance for the potato industry. We recommend to read the full financial report for complete information.
