Munich (dpa / lby) - The Munich agricultural trader and conglomerate Baywa has again raised its annual forecast and is now aiming for an annual profit of 475 to 525 million euros before interest and taxes. After a strong third quarter, Baywa has already exceeded its earnings forecast, which it had only raised in July, at the end of September and "is looking forward to the final quarter with confidence". One earnings driver is the business with renewable energy, the company announced on Thursday in Munich.
"In a turbulent market environment, security of supply has top priority for our customers - the demand for thermal energy sources such as heating oil and wood pellets, for operating resources and technology in agriculture, but also for building materials, for example for building renovation, is correspondingly high," said CEO Klaus Josef Lutz: Thanks to a broad network of suppliers, Baywa is able to deliver almost without restrictions.
In the first nine months, the company increased sales by almost half compared to the same period last year to 20.1 billion euros. The operating profit (EBIT) rose from 192 to 460 million euros.
The group benefited both from the expansion of renewable energies and the increasing demand for green electricity systems as well as from the high demand for heating oil, wood pellets and fuel. The weather and the scarce supply of grain "keep the agricultural markets in motion. BayWa took advantage of the corresponding trading opportunities and was able to further increase its profitability in agricultural product trading." The farmers used high producer prices for investments, "which is reflected in increasing sales of agricultural machinery". In the fruit and vegetable trade, on the other hand, the difficult economic conditions slowed the result. Sales and earnings increased in the construction sector.
Baywa is Germany's largest agricultural trader. A second important pillar is renewable energies, the company projects and builds large solar parks, among other things.
