Südzucker Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Südzucker (ETR:SZU) reported a challenging archetypal 9 months of fiscal 2025-26 but said results improved meaningfully successful the 3rd 4th and reiterated its full-year guidance, with absorption emphasizing continued unit successful the sweetener concern and the stabilizing relation of its non-sugar segments.

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Stephan Meeder described the group’s nine-month show arsenic a “mixed picture.” While third-quarter net improved versus some the prior-year 4th and the archetypal fractional of the year, the nine-month totals remained good beneath the anterior twelvemonth owed chiefly to the sweetener segment’s crisp decline.

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For the archetypal 9 months, Südzucker posted:

• Revenue: EUR 6.4 billion

• EBITDA: EUR 367 cardinal (down from EUR 502 cardinal a twelvemonth earlier)

• Operating result: EUR 95 cardinal (down from EUR 236 million)

• Cash flow: EUR 179 cardinal (down from EUR 368 million)

Meeder besides highlighted a emergence successful nett fiscal debt, calling it a cardinal absorption absorption alongside restructuring. Net fiscal indebtedness accrued by EUR 181 cardinal versus the extremity of fiscal 2024-25 to EUR 1.835 cardinal arsenic of the extremity of November, with absorption pointing to seasonal effects from beet payments during the run arsenic a origin successful third-quarter nett indebtedness movements.

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Management confirmed its fiscal 2025-26 guidance, expecting:

• Group revenue: EUR 8.3 cardinal to EUR 8.7 billion

• Operating result: EUR 100 cardinal to EUR 200 million

Meeder said the institution remained “slightly beneath midpoint” of the operating nett range, accordant with anterior commentary astatine the second-quarter update.

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He besides referenced an update provided connected Dec. 16, erstwhile Südzucker issued archetypal expectations for fiscal 2026-27: somewhat little radical gross twelvemonth implicit year, with EBITDA expected to summation moderately to a scope of EUR 480 cardinal to EUR 680 million.

The sweetener conception remained the superior contributor to the year-on-year decline. Over the archetypal 9 months, the conception reported an operating nonaccomplishment of minus EUR 136 million versus minus EUR 23 million successful the prior-year period, which absorption attributed chiefly to sharply little sweetener prices and reduced volumes. Lower manufacturing costs from the 2024 run were not capable to offset the terms and measurement decline.

Meeder outlined planetary and European marketplace dynamics. On the planetary market, helium said sweetener depletion continues to emergence by astir 1 cardinal tons per year, but accumulation remains cyclical. Based connected GlobalData’s December 2025 forecast, the institution cited a projected planetary shortage of 1.5 cardinal tons for 2024-25, followed by a projected surplus of 3.3 cardinal tons for 2025-26, driven by accrued accumulation chiefly successful India and Thailand. He said precocious ending stocks person weighed connected prices, adding that satellite marketplace achromatic sweetener prices fell during summertime 2025 to astir EUR 350 per ton earlier ending November astatine EUR 377 per ton, with a weaker U.S. dollar besides cited arsenic a contributor.