PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) - France's second-largest sugar maker Cristal Union on Tuesday posted a record net profit of 307 million euros ($334 million) for its 2023/24 financial year, up 72% from the 179 million reported a year earlier, helped by high sugar prices.
Sales were up 20% at 2.8 billion euros in the year ended Jan. 31, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 50% to 432 million euros, the cooperative group said.
"The Group was able to take advantage of a buoyant sugar market and satisfactory sugar beet yields despite a fall in area (-2%) and particularly difficult weather conditions," it said in a statement.
Other European sugar and ethanol groups, including France's largest producer Tereos and Germany's Suedzucker, have also reported strong earnings in the past fiscal year as they benefitted from the rise in prices to record highs.
($1 = 0.9182 euros) (Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Mark Potter )
