16.05.2021 Agrana: In the 2020|21 financial year, fruit-, starch- and sugar company Agrana Beteiligungs-AG achieved a slight increase in Group revenue to Euro 2,547.0 mn. Operating profit (EBIT), at Euro 78.7 mn, rose 17.6% from the prior year. In the year under review, the Covid-19 pandemic was the defining factor for all business segments. In the Fruit segment, earnings of the fruit preparations business were up from a year ago despite one-off effects. In the fruit juice concentrate business, by contrast, poor apple harvests coincided with pandemic-related weak demand, especially in the food service and tourism sectors, which led to a significantly reduced earnings performance. In the Starch segment, reduced starch volumes sold to the graphic paper industry (the print sector) were offset by increased sales to corrugated cardboard manufacturers (packaging). Starch margins on balance were lower for demand reasons and the segment's operating performance was thus down from the prior year. In the Sugar segment, higher sugar prices and volumes contributed to a significant year-on-year improvement in the - albeit still negative - bottom line. "Despite the extraordinary conditions created by the Covid-19 pandemic, we delivered solid results in the last financial year. Overall, what is once again clear is that our stable business performance is due in large part to the diversification of our business segments," says Agrana Chief Executive Officer Johann Marihart.