Despite extreme drought ruining almost 40% of our harvested area and leading to
far worse results than we had targeted, EBITDA and net result show continued
improvement. Management will be proposing a dividend for the second year
running.
Highlights of 4Q 2012
Total revenue, other income, fair value adjustments and net changes in inventory
for 2012 amounted to EUR 73,006 thousand (EUR 71,080 thousand in 2011).
Cost of purchased goods for trading purposes amounted to EUR 14,165 thousand in
2012 (EUR 10,706 thousand in 2011).
Total operating expenses excluding one-off items amounted to EUR 55,361 thousand
in 2012 (EUR 50,703 thousand in 2011).
EBITDA in 2012 amounted to EUR 19,480 thousand (EUR 14,057 thousand in 2011).
EBIT in 2012 amounted to EUR 10,846 thousand (EUR 6,242 thousand in 2011).
The Net profit of the Group in 2012 amounted to a profit of EUR 1,687 thousand
(profit of EUR 1,202 thousand in 2011).
The consolidated assets of the Group as of December 31, 2012 amounted to EUR
210,100 thousand (EUR 194,360 thousand at December 31, 2011).
Trigon Agri’s Founder and Chairman of the Board, Joakim Helenius, Comments:
As indicated in previous statements, 2012 was an exceptionally challenging year
with the extreme drought conditions in the southern parts of Russia and Ukraine
effectively wiping out almost 40% of our harvested area. This clearly made it
impossible for us to achieve the significant improvement in our profits which we
had targeted for the year. Despite the weather conditions being extremely
unfavourable for us, we are, however, pleased to show a continued improvement in
our consolidated EBITDA and Net Profit, which means that management will propose
a dividend payment in accordance with our dividend policy for the second year in
a row.
The Rostov land swap transaction, which was concluded in Q4, is explained in
detail in the Q4 2012 Interim Report. Importantly, it was structured in a way
which impacted our liquidity in only a minor way. We believe that thanks to the
irrigation potential of the land in question combined with its vicinity to Black
Sea grain export terminals, it will provide us with a platform which together
with our profitable Ukrainian operations will allow us to achieve our declared
target of a return on assets of 20% or more. Importantly we are working on
structures that will allow us to avoid using our own balance sheet to finance
the irrigation roll-out, relying instead on a combination of government
subsidies and third party strategic and financial partners. We aim to achieve
our targeted return on assets over the next four years.
As part of our longer-term planning we have divided our assets into core and non
-core. Our Ukrainian operations and the Rostov cluster constitute our core
assets. The book value of our non-core assets amount to EUR 52 million, although
we believe that their market value could well be higher.
As has been stated in previous communications we would like to strongly
emphasize our aim to develop our business so as to achieve our profitability
targets without resorting to Trigon Agri issuing new shares. We have managed our
business with a close eye on liquidity management, which has allowed us to
navigate the global financial and economic crisis without tapping the market for
equity financing since May 2008.
In conclusion, I would like to re-emphasize our medium-term aims. Over the next
four years we aim to:
· avoid issuing new shares
· focus our business on its core assets with a significant roll-out of
irrigated farming
· achieve our declared target of a 20% return on assets
· pay off our debt so as to leave us essentially debt-free
Telephone conference details
A telephone conference will be held today, on February 28, 2013 at 09.30 CET.
Program:
Ülo Adamson, President and CEO, will present and comment upon the results. There
will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
To participate in the telephone conference, please call one of the following
numbers:
UK: + 44 (0) 203 043 2436
SE: +46 (0)8 505 598 53
FI: +358 (0) 923 101 527
NO: +47 215 111 88
DK: +45 369 541 87
CH: +41 (0) 445 806 524
US: +1 866 458 4087
The presentation material will be available under the “Investor Relations”
section at www.trigonagri.com before the telephone conference starts.
Investor enquiries:
Mr. Ülo Adamson, President and CEO of Trigon Agri A/S, Tel: +372 66 79200, E
-mail: mail@trigonagri.com
About Trigon Agri
Trigon Agri is a leading integrated soft commodities production, storage and
trading company with operations in Ukraine, Russia and Estonia. Trigon Agri’s
shares are traded on the main market of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. Trigon Agri is
managed under a management agreement by Trigon Capital, a leading Central and
Eastern European operational management firm with around USD 1 billion of assets
under management.
For subscription to Company Announcements please contact us:
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