- Total volumes for the quarter were on par with last year and amounted to 569,000 MT (569,000).
-
Operating profit, including a negative currency translation impact of
SEK 57 million , increased by 2 percent, reachingSEK 551 million (542). -
Profit for the period amounted to
SEK 400 million (383), an increase by 4 percent. -
Earnings per share increased by 4 percent, to
SEK 1.56 (1.50). -
Cash flow from operating activities amounted to
SEK 58 million (71). -
Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), R12M, was 14.4 percent (14.3 at
December 31 , 2020).
Business areas
- Food Ingredients - operating profit decreased by 4 percent to
SEK 313 million (325). -
Chocolate & Confectionery Fats - operating profit reached
SEK 233 million (222), an increase by 5 percent. -
Technical Products & Feed - operating profit reached
SEK 44 million (38), an increase by 16 percent.
CEO's comments
The first quarter of the year has been characterized by a strong customer demand for our speciality and semi-speciality solutions, particularly within Chocolate & Confectionery Fats, Special Nutrition, and Plant-based Foods. This is very much a result of our teams around the world successfully executing on our strategy.
Despite the ongoing pandemic and a material negative currency translation impact, we achieved a higher operating profit compared to last year. At fixed foreign exchange rates, we increased our operating profit by 12 percent.
Business performance
Volumes for the Group were on par with last year with a sequential increase during the quarter. There was very strong volume growth for Chocolate & Confectionery Fats and for our high value-adding solutions within Food Ingredients. This was offset by lower volumes in Foodservice, which continues to be significantly impacted by Covid-19.
Operating profit amounted to
The business dynamics within Food Ingredients were mixed with growth for our high-end speciality solutions within Special Nutrition and Plant-based Foods, and our semi-speciality solutions within Dairy. However, Foodservice, and to some extent Bakery, continued to be negatively impacted by restrictions and lockdowns.
Chocolate & Confectionery Fats reported strong volume growth, driven by our customer co-developed solutions. Demand in
It was also a very good quarter for Technical Products & Feed, mainly driven by our feed business and high utilization in our crushing operations.
Strategic investment
To further accelerate the development of ingredient solutions for alternatives to meat and dairy products, we have during the quarter partnered up with
Continued strong sustainability progress
We continue to see strong development within our sustainability activities and our contributions towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We have significantly increased the number of women involved in Kolo Nafaso, our direct shea sourcing program in
We also continue our dedicated work to reduce our environmental impact and have recently decreased energy consumption, water consumption and waste per processed unit raw material.
Furthermore, we have decided that ESG targets henceforth is included in the evaluation of the Executive Committee's remuneration.
Concluding remarks
Uncertainty and volatility, due to the pandemic and current global logistics and sea freight disturbances, remain high. This makes it difficult to predict the short-term future. However, AAK has a robust foundation, a strong financial track record and a solid balance sheet, and we have over the past year demonstrated the resilience of our business. The passion, drive and agility our organization shows are strengths we build on going forward.
We offer plant-based, healthy, high value-adding oils and fats solutions based on our customer co-development approach. We continuously strengthen our portfolio of solutions that are good for both people and planet. Despite the short- to mid-term uncertainty, we see no reason to adjust our view on the strong favorable underlying long-term trends in our markets. Thus, we continue to remain prudently optimistic about the future and we are fully committed to Making Better Happen™.
Press and analyst conference
The Interim report for the first quarter 2021 will be presented today,
For more information, please contact:
Group Controller and IR support
Mobile: +46 709 72 31 26
E-mail: investor@aak.com
This information is information that
About AAK
Everything AAK does is about Making Better Happen™. We specialize in plant-based oils that are the value-adding ingredients in many of the products people love to consume. We make these products better tasting, healthier, and more sustainable. At the heart of AAK's offer is Customer Co-Development, combining our desire to understand what better means for each customer, with the unique flexibility of our production assets, and a deep knowledge of many products and industries, including Chocolate & Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy, Plant-based Foods, Special Nutrition, Foodservice and Personal Care. Our 3,900 employees support our close collaboration with customers through 25 regional sales offices, 15 dedicated Customer Innovation Centers, and with the support of more than 20 production facilities. Listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and with our headquarters in Malmö,
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