24 February 2022
ForFarmers annual results 2021
Financial highlights 20211:
- Total Feed2 volume: -0.8% to 9.7 million tonnes; virtually stable in the Netherlands/Belgium and Germany/Poland but down in the United Kingdom
of which compound feed volume: +0.2% to 6.8 million tonnes; up in Netherlands/Belgium (due to acquisitions) and in Germany/Poland but down in United Kingdom
- Revenue: +13.5% to €2,671 million due to acquisitions and partly passing on higher prices of raw materials
- Gross profit: +0.7% to €436.3 million due to acquisitions; increase limited by impact of high raw material prices and like-for-like volume decline
- Underlying EBITDA: -18.7% to €78.2 million; higher energy costs could not be fully passed on in the chain
- Underlying net profit3: -37.4% to €29.0 million
- Working capital: €37.5 million (2020: €33.4 million)
- Cash flow from operating activities: -44.2% to €54.7 million; fall due to lower EBITDA and small rise in working capital (compared to fall in 2020)
- Dividend proposal: €0.29 per ordinary share; €0.19 regular dividend equating to 60% distribution and €0.10 special dividend (2020: €0.29)
1 Results are always compared year-on-year
2 Total Feed covers the entire ForFarmers product portfolio and consists of compound feed, specialties, co-products (including DML products), seed and other products (such as forage)
3 Net profit: in this context is defined as profit attributable to shareholders in the Company
Yoram Knoop, CEO of ForFarmers: “For ourselves and our customers, 2021 was a turbulent year in which we were impacted by challenges including rising input costs, animal diseases and increasing pressure on the agricultural sector. Despite many of our employees having suffered Covid infections and the many challenges we faced in the supply chain, we were able to continue supplying our customers well. Our results were affected by the fact that prices for raw materials rose faster than the prices for products sold by and to our customers. In these circumstances, it proved difficult in the chain to pass on the significant rises in energy prices on top of the higher raw material prices. In addition, we had an incident involving unfavourably priced sales contracts in Germany in the first half year, putting pressure on our margins. At the same time, however, we saw a recovery of results in Poland and a solid contribution from the acquisitions in the Dutch poultry sector (De Hoop Mengvoeders) and the horse sector (Mühldorfer), with both companies having been acquired in early 2021. Following the acquisition of De Hoop, the growing poultry sector is currently the largest sector in our portfolio, before ruminants and swine. The number of ftes has (like-for-like) declined due to the implementation of our efficiency programme, which puts us ahead of the cost savings plan. Nevertheless, we saw a sharp decline in underlying EBITDA.
We expect raw material and energy prices to remain high, given the worrying political situation between Russia and Ukraine. We therefore expect continued pressure on margin and costs during 2022 and consequently on underlying EBITDA, which will show a substantial decline (YoY) in the first half year of 2022 in particular.
We aim to enhance our market position by focusing on optimal customer experience, sustainability and innovation. At the same time we continue to leverage our scale, work on realising acquisitions and optimise our cost levels. In addition, in light of the changes and challenges in the agricultural sector, we have started a process to evaluate our strategy and, where necessary, to tighten it. The outcome hereof will be presented later this year. Our employees have once again made a huge effort and have shown flexibility and commitment in 2021, for which I am extremely grateful. As announced previously I will be stepping down after the General Meeting of Shareholders in April. The search for my successor is in full swing. In the meantime ForFarmers will continue to focus fully on a sustainable future perspective for all its stakeholders, in line with its mission For the Future of Farming.”
Read the full press release in the attached pdf.
This press release contains information that qualifies as inside information in the sense of Article 7 paragraph 1 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Note to the editor / For further information:
Caroline Vogelzang, Director of Investor Relations
T: +31 6 10 94 91 61
E: caroline.vogelzang@forfarmers.eu
About ForFarmers
ForFarmers N.V. is an international organisation that provides complete innovative feed solutions to the livestock farming industry. With its ‘For the Future of Farming’ mission ForFarmers is committed to the continuity of farming and to further increasing the sustainability of the agricultural sector. ForFarmers is the market leader in Europe with annual sales of around 10 million tonnes of animal feed. The company is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom. ForFarmers has approximately 2,500 employees. In 2021 revenue amounted to approximately €2.7 billion. ForFarmers N.V. is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
ForFarmers N.V.
P.O. Box 91
7240 AB Lochem
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)573 28 88 00
F: +31 (0)573 28 88 99
info@forfarmers.eu
https://www.forfarmersgroup.eu/en/
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those relating to ForFarmers legal obligations in terms of capital and liquidity positions in certain specified scenarios. In addition, forward-looking statements, without limitation, may include such phrases as “intends to”, "expects“, “takes into account”, "is aimed at“, ''plans to”, "estimated" and words with a similar meaning. These statements pertain to or may affect matters in the future, such as ForFarmers future financial results, business plans and current strategies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which may mean that there could be material differences between actual results and performance and expected future results or performances that are implicitly or explicitly included in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may result in variations on the current expectations or may contribute to the same include but are not limited to: developments in legislation, technology, jurisprudence and regulations, share price fluctuations, legal procedures, investigations by regulatory bodies, the competitive landscape and general economic conditions. These and other factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect any forward-looking statements or the actual results of ForFarmers, are discussed in the last published annual report. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only statements as of the date of this document and ForFarmers accepts no obligation or responsibility with respect to any changes made to the forward-looking statements contained in this document, regardless of whether these pertain to new information, future events or otherwise, unless ForFarmers is legally obliged to do so.
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