Apetit Group’s profitability lower than in the previous year – Positive overall development in Food Solutions
Apetit Plc, Financial Statements Review on 17 February 2022 at 08:30 a.m.
Apetit Plc: Financial Statements Release 1 January to 31 December 2021
Apetit Group’s profitability lower than in the previous year – Positive overall development in Food Solutions
October–December 2021, continuing operations*
- Net sales amounted to EUR 83.0 (82.0) million
- EBITDA was EUR 2.2 (2.7) million
- Operating profit was EUR 0.5 (1.1) million
January–December 2021, continuing operations*
- Net sales amounted to EUR 283.9 (292.9) million
- EBITDA was EUR 9.2 (10.1) million
- Operating profit was EUR 2.8 (3.9) million
*) Apetit’s continuing operations are Food Solutions, Oilseed Products and Grain Trade. In addition to the three reporting segments (Food Solutions, Oilseed Products, Grain Trade), Apetit reports Group Functions, consisting of the expenses related to Group management, strategic projects and listing on the stock exchange that are not allocated to the three business segments.
The figures for 2021 and 2020 have been audited. The quarterly and six-month figures are unaudited. The figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2020, and the comparison period means the corresponding period in the previous year, unless otherwise stated.
PROFIT GUIDANCE FOR 2022
The full-year operating profit from continuing operations is expected to improve year-on-year (EUR 2.8 million in 2021).
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ DIVIDEND PROPOSAL
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share be paid for the financial year 2021.
Esa Mäki, CEO:
“Apetit Group’s net sales in the fourth quarter were at the same level with the comparison period but profitability declined. Towards the end of the year, profitability was weakened especially by the rise in energy costs and the increase in the price of oilseed plant raw materials that had continued since the summer. At the annual level, our operating profit was lower than in the previous year due to the weak profitability of the Grain Trade business. The profitability of the Oilseed Products segment was burdened by the record-high raw material price and increased logistics costs. With regard to the refining margin, the situation will remain challenging early in the year. In Food Solutions, development has been, for the most part, very positive.
The retail demand for food remained strong until the end of the year. Demand in the Food Service channel also continued to recover. In food exports, we strengthened our position especially in the Swedish retail sector with new customer relationships. Although the pea harvest fell significantly short of the target, which reduced export volumes towards the end of the year, the total annual value of exports increased by 5 per cent. Profitability improved in all sales channels. Our delivery reliability has also remained at an excellent level.
In the Oilseed Products business, we continued our systematic work to commercialise the new rapeseed-based plant protein during the year. The small-scale production of the BlackGrain from Yellow Fields plant protein started in October 2021. The small-scale production enables customers to test BlackGrain in their own product development. At Apetit, BlackGrain was used for the first time in a commercial product in early 2022 as Apetit Vegetable Ball was launched for the HoReCa market.
The Kantvik bioenergy plant was commissioned towards the end of the year. The plant significantly reduces the Group’s CO2 emissions and energy costs. In the bioenergy plant, we can also make full use of production side streams, such as the straw that comes with seeds. The side streams account for about 10 per cent of the total fuel amount. The total value of the investment was approximately EUR 7 million.
We have succeeded in improving production efficiency throughout the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant: records were achieved both in rapeseed milling and in oil refining. Increasing the cultivation of domestic oilseed plants in line with our goal supports our efforts to improve the profitability of the Oilseed Products segment in the new harvest season.
In December, Apetit Group’s subsidiary Avena Nordic Grain agreed on selling the Baltic operations of the Grain Trade business to Scandagra Group, which is a leading agriculture company in the Baltic countries. This business transaction is in line with our strategy and will make the Grain Trade business significantly healthier. The transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of the year.
The changing COVID-19 situation has required us to act flexibly and competently in implementing various exceptional arrangements. Regardless of this all, we have successfully achieved our goal of ensuring the health and safety of our employees and ensuring undisrupted operations throughout the food supply chain. For this, I would like to thankour personnel warmly.
In the corporate responsibility programme published in spring 2021, Apetit set targets for every stage of the value chain. An important goal is to reduce the climate impacts of our own operations. In this area, we have identified the impacts of energy consumption as essential. Significant investments in both Kantvik and Säkylä in the use of renewable energy and the development of energy and material efficiency reduce our climate impacts considerably. Put together, they will propel us towards our goal of reducing our own direct CO2 emissions by 75 per cent by 2025.”
| KEY FIGURES | ||||||
| EUR million | 10–12 2021 | 10–12 2020 | Change | 1–12 2021 | 1–12 2020 | Change |
| Continuing operations | ||||||
| Net sales | 83.0 | 82.0 | 1% | 283.9 | 292.9 | -3% |
| EBITDA | 2.2 | 2.7 | 9.2 | 10.1 | ||
| Operating profit | 0.5 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 | ||
| Share of profit of associated company Sucros | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | ||
| Profit for the period | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.1 | ||
| Earnings per share, EUR | 0.19 | 0.24 | 0.38 | 0.49 | ||
| Working capital at the end of the period | 50.5 | 48.4 | ||||
| Investment | 6.6 | 7.8 | ||||
| Group (incl. discontinued operations) | ||||||
| Net sales | 83.0 | 82.0 | 1% | 283.9 | 293.0 | -3% |
| EBITDA | 2.2 | 2.8 | 9.2 | 10.2 | ||
| Operating profit | 0.5 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 4.1 | ||
| Profit for the period | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.4 | 3.2 | ||
| Earnings per share, EUR | 0.19 | 0.25 | 0.38 | 0.52 | ||
| Equity per share, EUR | 14.95 | 15.26 | ||||
| ROCE % | 2.4 | 3.3 | ||||
| Net cash flow from operating activities | 5.0 | 26.8 | ||||
| Equity ratio, % | 59.4 | 66.5 | ||||
| Gearing, % | 26.6 | 21.7 |
WEBCAST
A news conference (in Finnish) will be held as a live webcast today on 17 February 2022 at 10:00. The news conference can be followed at apetit.fi/for-investors. The presentation material and a recording of the webcast will be available on the company’s website after the news conference.
Apetit Plc
Esa Mäki, CEO, Apetit Plc, tel. +358 10 402 2100
Apetit is a food industry company firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. Our operations are based on a unique and sustainable value chain: we create well-being with vegetables by offering tasty food solutions that make daily life easier. We also produce high-quality vegetable oils and rapeseed expellers for feeding stuff, and trade grain on the international markets. Apetit Plc's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2021, Apetit Group's net sales were EUR 284 million.
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