CEO’s review Q3/2024

CEO’s review Q3/2024

Esa Mäki, CEO:

“Apetit’s operating result in the third quarter improved from the comparison period. In Food Solutions, operating result grew clearly year-on-year and the result of Oilseed Products was at the same level as last year. One of the factors behind the improvement in Food Solutions was the normal seasonal fluctuation between quarters.

The Group’s net sales increased slightly from the comparison period. In Food Solutions, net sales grew especially in retail trade. Also in the Food service sector, development continued to be strong. In Oilseed Products, net sales were on a par with the comparison period.

Apetit Group’s operating result in January–September improved from the comparison year and both businesses are ahead of the result for the comparison period. We continue to maintain our profit guidance, according to which the Group’s operating profit is estimated to be at the same level as in the comparison period.

In the strategically important ERP project, the production implementation for Food Solutions was carried out successfully as planned. The critical production and order-delivery system functions were successfully deployed at the turn of September and October. Important support systems also came into use at the same time. The ERP project will continue according to the planned schedule until the second half of 2025, proceeding to the production implementation phase in Oilseed Products.

The bottling line at the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant has become operational as planned. The line will be up and running at full capacity in late 2024. The first new Apetit Kotimainen Rapeseed Oil bottles have been produced on the line, and they will gradually be rolled out to retail stores during the rest of the year.

The bottling line enables a production method that significantly reduces the amount of plastic as well as logistic load associated with empty bottles. From now on, our plastic use will decrease on average by 41 per cent, taking into account all three sizes of Apetit’s rapeseed oil plastic bottles. The bottles receive their final shape only when they are on the bottling line, which significantly reduces the space required at all stages of the logistics chain. In addition to the new shape, all bottles have a new look and feel and are now part of the Apetit Kotimainen product family.

The commercialization of BlackGrain rapeseed powder is progressing. Over the past year, work with BlackGrain has focused on developing the production process and starting production on a commercial scale. In addition to developing the production process, we have, for example, invested in developing the product’s various use cases, both internally at Apetit and together with customers.

The harvest season for field vegetables has progressed well. For domestic frozen peas, the harvest season was successful as a whole. We processed more frozen peas than in previous years and the field-to-factory process ran smoothly. For root vegetables, the situation looks good – the long, warm autumn contributed to their growth. Harvest-time production has proceeded as planned. The success of the harvest season will be ultimately determined by the harvest conditions in late autumn and preservation of processability until freezing.

According to the harvest estimate of the Natural Resources Institute Finland*, the domestic turnip rape and rapeseed harvest is expected to increase by more than 40 per cent from last year, to 58 thousand tonnes. If the estimate is realised, the harvest would reach its highest level since 2018. The direction is good, but we hope that the turnip rape and rapeseed cultivation area and harvest volumes will continue to increase. The current level is not enough to cover Apetit’s targeted annual quantity of domestic raw materials. The sustainable cultivation level of domestic oilseed plants is also important for the security of supply.

In the autumn, we launched new products into retail stores. In addition to the new rapeseed oil packaging, we are introducing a new Kotimainen Wok Vegetables mix, spicy Falafel Harissa balls and a hot Nduja Pepperoni pizza. We are also renewing our frozen soup selection, introducing a tomato and lentil soup that is perfectly suited to the new nutritional recommendations. Product development and the continuous renewal of the product selection play an important role in commercial success, alongside classic products.”

*Natural Resources Institute Finland, harvest estimate 16.9.2024

Related articles

CEO's review Q1/2024

Esa Mäki, CEO: “Apetit’s operating profit improved clearly from the comparison period, especially in Oilseed Products. In Food Solutions, operating profit also grew year-on-year. In Oilseed Products, international crush margins have remained at a good level. In Food Solutions, operational efficiency has had a positive impact on profit performance. As expected, the Group’s net sales decreased from the comparison period. The decline in net sales was due to the clearly lower market prices of oilseed products. In Food Solutions, net sales grew slightly from the comparison period and sales volumes were almost at the level of comparison year. In addition to high-quality daily operations that reflect on our profit development, we are making progress in our strategic focus areas. We are promoting the commercialisation of the BlackGrain rapeseed powder and continuing the project to produce Finnish pea protein. The pea protein project has started small-scale testing using Finnish peas as the raw material. Common factors in these projects are Apetit’s strong commitment to Finnish primary production and raw materials as well as the goal of increasing the degree of processing and developing added-value products. In the coming harvest season, we will significantly increase the area used for contract farming of field vegetables. Especially pea, potato and carrot cultivation areas will be increased. Our aim for the harvest season is to get more than 35 million kilos of Finnish vegetables from our contract growers’ fields. In recent years, we have invested in improving harvest-time production efficiency at the Säkylä frozen foods plant, for instance by modernising the frozen pea intake end. In the coming harvest season, we will also start using a new pea harvester. Experimentation at the Räpi farm will continue, with a particular focus on further research into pea varieties. Räpi will carry out variety tests with carrots, swedes and spring rapeseed in the coming harvest season. Domestic rapeseed cultivation area is expected to increase in the Finnish Cereal Committee VYR’s* 2024 cultivation area survey. According to the survey, the cultivation area of spring turnip rape is expected to grow by 38 per cent and that of spring rapeseed by 16 per cent. Growing the cultivation area and harvest levels of domestic oilseed plants is important to Apetit. We want to secure the supply of domestic raw materials and use as much domestic rapeseed as possible. We are therefore cooperating with the domestic oilseed plant sector to develop the industry through the RypsiRapsi-foorumi development group, established in 2023. The work on the new bottling line for the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant has proceeded on schedule. According to the estimate, the new line is expected to be operational in the second half of 2024. With this approximately EUR 4.5 million investment, we take the supply chain into our own hands. For instance, the need for logistics will be significantly reduced with the new bottling line. The strategically important ERP project has progressed according to schedule. The first deployment phase at the end of last year was very successful. We are currently preparing production deployment. We have started a survey to set climate emission reduction targets for the entire Apetit value chain. In Apetit’s value chain, the main sources of emissions are primary production, packaging and logistics. As part of Apetit’s preparations for the requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), we have conducted a double materiality analysis. Based on the results, we will improve management and reporting of our sustainability data. During the spring we launched new products in several different product groups. The new product launches included new Superior frozen pizza varieties, new cauliflower wings flavours as well as affordably priced salmon balls and a versatile tomato-based frozen vegetable mix, ideal for the current consumption circumstances. In the spring we will also launch new flavoured vegetable oils. Investments in product development and new product launches play an important role in strengthening Apetit’s market position even further.”   *The Finnish Cereal Committee (VYR), Kylvöalakysely 2/2024

CEO’s review Q4/2023

Esa Mäki, CEO: “Operating profit from Apetit’s continuing operations clearly improved year-on-year. In Oilseed Products, profit improvement was significant and raw material sourcing was successful throughout the year. International crush margins were at an exceptionally elevated level during the entire calendar year. In Food Solutions, the sales developed favourably. The impact of inflation, which has weakened profit development, was successfully moderated. Throughout the year, price increases were made in Food Solutions. Long-term work in product development and product portfolio management had positive impacts on Apetit’s result. The Group’s full-year net sales decreased from the comparison year due to the fact that market prices decreased in oilseed products. In Food Solutions, net sales increased year-on-year in all sales channels. Sales volumes grew in the Food service sector and exports and remained at the comparison year’s level in retail trade and industrial sales. We took significant strategic steps in 2023. In October, we announced an approximately EUR 4.5 million investment in a new bottling line to be built at the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant. It is our goal, that the new line will become operational during the second half of 2024. The investment follows Apetit’s strategy of speeding up growth. It enables us to take the vegetable oil supply chain more firmly into our own hands and develop products with a higher degree of processing. The ongoing ERP project has progressed according to the planned schedule. The first implementation phase of the project between November and December was successful. A large and important project demands a lot from the personnel. Strategically significant ERP system is carried out in project groups that cross the group's organizational boundaries. We established sales organisation in Sweden to boost food exports. Apetit’s foothold in Sweden has strengthened as our products have expanded into new retailer groups. The share of food exports in net sales increased in 2023. Net sales from exports to Sweden increased slightly year-on-year. The commercialisation of the rapeseed protein ingredient BlackGrain progresses. In 2023, we took important steps in production process development towards starting commercial scale production. We will tell more about our long-term plans on BlackGrain in the second half of 2024. We also launched a project to produce Finnish pea protein. The pea is one of the most used plant proteins worldwide, but thus far there has been no pea protein production in Finland. Apetit’s expertise in plant-based raw materials and strong cooperation with Finnish primary production lay a solid foundation for the project. “More domestic plant proteins” is one of Apetit’s strategic focus areas. Apetit was the driving force in the establishment of the new domestic oilseed plant production development group, RypsiRapsi-foorumi. Domestic rapeseed harvest has been worryingly low in recent years. With the forum we want to produce practical information and efficient rapeseed cultivation methods. The goal is to promote the cultivation of domestic rapeseed and its profitability. We have reduced CO2 emissions caused by our use of energy by 68 per cent compared to 2019. Apetit’s production facilities have gone through a major energy transition in recent years and 74 per cent of the energy we used in 2023 was from renewable sources. The Säkylä frozen foods plant’s new energy solution that is based on heat recovery and enables the use of biogas was deployed in summer 2023. Strong cost inflation influenced the past operating year and consumer purchasing behaviour. Affordable price plays an increasingly important role in purchasing decisions. Apetit’s product range is an excellent match to consumer demand. In addition to the price, important factors influencing purchase decisions are long-term trends, such as healthiness and sustainability. In early 2023, we conducted a survey on Finnish consumers’ perceptions concerning frozen vegetables. Approximately one in three Finns say that they buy frozen vegetables almost every time they go grocery shopping and about nine out of ten consider frozen vegetables to be excellent help in making everyday life easier and increasing the use of vegetables. Approximately 85 per cent of Finns consider frozen vegetables to be a sustainable choice. Apetit focuses on domestic and plant-based raw materials as well as products that promote well-being and sustainable consumption. We continue our efforts to seek growth from diverse plant-based food solutions and added-value products. The past year indicates that Apetit is on the right track. I would like to warmly thank all Apetit employees and for their cooperation the owners, customers, contract growers and other partners for the year 2023.”

CEO's Review Q3/2023

Esa Mäki, CEO: “In the third quarter, Apetit’s operating profit improved year-on-year. Both businesses improved their results. In Oilseed Products, positive profit performance was boosted by successful raw material sourcing. The operational efficiency of the bioenergy plant at the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant has improved. In Food Solutions, positive profit performance resulted from good development in sales and price adjustments made in order to respond to the general rise in costs. We upgraded our profit guidance for 2023 for operating profit from continuing operations. Apetit expects the full-year operating profit from continuing operations to clearly improve year-on-year. In Oilseed Products, raw material sourcing has been successful throughout the year. International crush margins have been at an elevated level during the entire calendar year, and stabilisation of margins is not expected to happen during the remaining financial year. In Food Solutions, the sales have developed favourably. The impact of inflation, which has limited profit development, has successfully been moderated. The harvesting season, which is a key profit driver for Food Solutions, has progressed in a way that limits the risk during the current financial year from previous estimate. In October, we announced that we are building the new bottling line in the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant. With this approximately EUR 4.5 million investment, we take the supply chain more firmly into our own hands. Investing in a new bottling line follows Apetit’s strategy of speeding up growth and provides opportunities for the development of products with a higher degree of processing in the vegetable oil business. On the new line, vegetable oils can be bottled in plastic and glass bottles. It is estimated that the new line will become operational during the second half of 2024. The abundant rainfall in August and September posed challenges for harvesting. Weather in the autumn can have a negative impact on the quality of root vegetable crops. Regardless, the harvest-time production of root vegetables has been fairly good as a whole. The processing of root vegetable crops will continue to the next calendar year. The volume and quality of autumn spinach crops were impaired by the abundant rainfall. We have launched several delicious new products during the autumn. Our new soup ingredients for traditional salmon soup and borsch soup introduced the Apetit brand in a new product category. These products contain soup ingredients for making a filling soup easily. Another new product of this autumn, Mashed potato with carrots, makes daily life much easier. The frozen pizza product family expanded to family-size pizzas when Superior Grande pizzas were introduced to the market. These new pizzas increase the range of Apetit’s frozen pizzas, which was renewed a year ago and received a warm welcome among consumers. The new products introduced this autumn are an excellent complement to our range of products. Apetit’s product selection is a good match for the current situation, in which consumers prefer affordably priced products. Important steps forward have been taken in the work to commercialise the rapeseed protein ingredient BlackGrain. This year’s efforts have been associated with the development of the production process. During the summer and the autumn, we have achieved desired results in process-related details, contributing to starting the commercial scale production. “More domestic plant proteins” is one of Apetit’s strategic focus areas. We have launched a project to produce Finnish pea protein. In this strategically important project, we explore, in the entire value chain, the opportunities to produce Finnish pea protein. We have many advantages here: strong value chain insight, expertise in plant-based raw materials and long-term cooperation with domestic primary production. The pea is one of our most used plant proteins worldwide, but thus far we have relied on imported raw materials. During the review period, Apetit decided to establish its own sales organisation in Sweden. The decision strengthens our position and promotes exports. Apetit’s product selection has achieved a strong foothold in the Swedish retail trade and it has grown even stronger with the expansion of the distribution channels. Export demand for peas continues to be strong. Apetit’s production facilities have gone through an energy transition and, as a result, the share of renewable energy of all energy used by the Group has grown approximately eight-fold. Wind power is now used in all production facilities. The Kantvik bioenergy plant and the Säkylä plant’s new energy solution have increased the use of domestic renewable energy. Apetit’s emission targets will be reached ahead of the planned schedule. The target set by Apetit is to reduce energy-related emissions by 75 per cent by 2025.”