Mannheim, July 16, 2009 - The annual general meeting of CropEnergies AG, Mannheim, on July 16, 2009 elected Dr. Theo Spettmann to the supervisory board for a term ending at the close of the Annual General Meeting in 2012..
At the supervisory board meeting held after the annual general meeting he was elected as chairman. Dr. Spettmann is succeeding Dr. h. c. Eggert Voscherau, who has been chairman of the supervisory board of CropEnergies AG since November 2006 and retired from the supervisory board at the end of today?s annual general meeting. CropEnergies thanks Dr. Voscherau for the valuable services he has rendered and his exceptional support at a time when CropEnergies has evolved from a purely German bioethanol producer into a pan-European group of companies.
All the other motions put forward by the company's executive board and supervisory board were adopted by a clear majority of over 99 %. Some 600 shareholders attended the annual general meeting which was held in the Rosengarten in Mannheim. Roughly 82.5 % of the share capital was represented. Of particular interest at the annual general meeting were the strategic goals of CropEnergies, the developments on the growth market for renewable energies, and the outlook for the current financial year.
CropEnergies expects the company's growth to continue in the 2009/10 financial year. Higher bioethanol production and sales volumes as a result of the capacity expansions and the start of the marketing of additional co-products from the bioethanol plant in Wanze, Belgium, will increase revenues significantly. Given the signs of recovery in bioethanol prices and the scheduled increase in output of the plant in Wanze CropEnergies expects EBITDA and operating profit to be above the previous year's level. The non-operational expenditures incurred the previous year during the construction of the bioethanol plant in Belgium will also fall away. All in all, income from operations will therefore be significantly up on the previous years level.
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". From regenerative resources - grain and sugar beet - it produces energy in the form of bioethanol.
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.