DGAP-News: KTG Agrar passes 30,000 hectares mark
(firmenpresse) - KTG Agrar AG / Miscellaneous
10.03.2010 07:44
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- Winter seeds come safely through the cold season
- Secured costs of supplies indicate good margin in 2010
- Biogas will become the growth driver in 2010 and 2011
Hamburg, 10 March 2010 - KTG Agrar AG (ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4) is continuously
expanding its position as a leading agricultural company in Europe.
Compared to the period last year, the company's farmland increased by 3,500
hectares. Specialising in the cultivation of organic and conventional food
crops such as grain, maize and rapeseed, the company now has a total of
30,500 hectares for the 2010 season - an area the size of approx. 41,000
soccer pitches. 5.700 hectares of the total are owned by KTG Agrar. The
remaining farmland is leased under long-term leases of more than ten years.
'The 30,000 hectare mark represents an important milestone. While size
alone is no guarantee of success, it allows us to use the largest and most
efficient machines, buy direct from fertiliser and machinery producers and
supply the leading processors with no need for a middleman,' says Siegfried
Hofreiter, CEO of KTG Agrar. 'This helps stabilise our margin strongly.'
The Hamburg-based company is optimistic about the year 2010. Says Siegfried
Hofreiter: 'We will boost both our total output and our profit in the
current year.' By expanding its farmland, the company has already laid the
foundation for this growth. Furthermore, the winter grain sown in the
autumn spent the winter months safely under the thick layer of snow, and
the company bought the necessary supplies at an early stage. The nitrogen
requirements for the year 2010 have already been covered, and the diesel
requirements have largely been satisfied. Nor is there any urgent need for
action with regard to potash. 'We therefore project a stable margin for the
sale of the 2010 harvest,' says Siegfried Hofreiter. On the cost side, the
company additionally benefits from the operation of its own biogas plants.
The fermentation residues produced in these plants is an excellent natural
fertiliser, allowing the company to reduce its dependence on fertiliser
suppliers.
The biogas segment will be the company's growth driver in 2010 and 2011.
Here, too, KTG Agrar has already laid the foundation. Production capacity
is planned to be increased to roughly 14 megawatts (MW) by mid-2010. In
Flechtingen, a 3.2 MW biogas plant went online at the beginning of the
year, while another 3.2 MW plant is under construction in Seelow.
Completion of the latter is scheduled for summer 2010.
'At present we have ideal conditions for the operation of our integrated
biogas plants. We want to take advantage of this situation and increase our
investments,' says Siegfried Hofreiter. The company aims to have some 20 MW
connected to the grid by 2012/2013 and to generate annual revenues of
approx. EUR 30 million with these plants. Due to the integrated concept,
KTG Agrar's biogas segment generates an EBIT margin of over 20 percent. The
integration of food crop cultivation and biogas production leads to
substantial synergies. Given that the plants are located on the sites of
the farms, the input materials can be grown in the immediate vicinity.
Besides energy maize, agricultural resourcessuch as grass and straw are
used. Intercrops are also gaining importance. Following the grain harvest
in the summer, millet and clover grass are sown and harvested in November.
Two harvests per year mean that the costly machines can be used for a much
longer time. It is planned to run the biogas plants almost exclusively on
grass and intercrops in only a few years' time. Says Siegfried Hofreiter:
'The biogas sector is still young. Efficiency and, hence, our margin will
grow as a result of technological and breeding progress.'
About KTG Agrar:
With cultivable land of more than 29,000 hectares, KTG Agrar AG is one of
the leading producers of agricultural commodities in Europe. The
Hamburg-based company's core area of expertise is the organic and
traditional cultivation of market products such as cereals, maize and
rapeseed. KTG Agrar is the market leader for organic market products in
Germany, in terms of cultivable land area. The company has had a third
mainstay in the production of bioenergy. At present, KTG Agrar operates
biogas plants with a total electrical connection capacity of around eleven
megawatts. The company mainly produces in Germany but has also operated
production in the EU full member state of Lithuania since 2005. In the year
2008, KTG achieved a total output of EUR 49 million and EBIT of EUR 7.5
million. Since November 2007 the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange and currently mote than 200 employees. Further information can be
found at www.ktg.ag.
Contact:
Investor Relations / Press
Fabian Lorenz
IR.on AG
Tel: +49 221 914097 - 6
E-Mail: fabian.lorenz(at)ir-on.com
10.03.2010 07:44 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Medienarchiv atwww.dgap-medientreff.deandwww.dgap.de---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Language: English
Company: KTG Agrar AG
Ferdinandstr. 12
20095 Hamburg
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)40-303 76-47
Fax: +49 (0)40-303 76-799
E-mail: info(at)ktg-agrar.de
Internet: www.ktg-agrar.de
ISIN: DE000A0DN1J4
WKN: A0DN1J
Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart; Open
Market (Entry Standard) in Frankfurt
End of News DGAP News-Service
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