Mannheim, 17 May 2010 - CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, continued to grow profitably in the 2009/10 financial year (1 March 2009 - 28 February 2010) and increased its revenues by 14 percent to EUR 374.1 (previous year: 328.4) million.
The company was able to expand its position as one of the leading bioethanol producers in Europe. Parallel with the growth in revenues, EBITDA was up 16 percent to EUR 33.1 (previous year: 28.6) million. Operating profit declined to EUR 11.9 (previous year: 18.2) million owing to the start-up costs for the new bioethanol plant in Belgium and a doubling of depreciation.
At its meeting on 17 May 2010, the supervisory board approved the executive board's recommendation to pay a dividend for the 2009/10 financial year - the first dividend since the company was established in 2006. The supervisory board and the executive board will propose to the annual general meeting on 15 July 2010 a total dividend of EUR 4.3 million, or EUR 0.05 per share.
The full annual report for 2009/10 will be published on the company's website at www.cropenergies.com at 10.30 a.m. (CEST) on 18 May 2010.
CropEnergies AG
CropEnergies - a member of the Südzucker Group - is a leading European supplier of sustainably produced bioethanol for the fuel sector. "Crop" stands for "creative regeneration of power". Energy in the form of bioethanol is produced from renewable resources - grain and sugar beets.
CropEnergies sees itself as a pioneer in the German bioethanol market and is expanding its market position throughout Europe. With subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, and France, CropEnergies is one of the leading bioethanol producers in the European growth market for renewable energies. The shares of CropEnergies AG (ISIN DE000A0LAUP1) are listed in the Official Market (Prime Standard) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.