MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Lower selling prices for raw materials and higher interest rates have weighed on the business of agricultural trader and conglomerate Baywa in recent months. In the first nine months of 2023, sales fell by 9.4 percent year-on-year to just under 18.2 billion euros. Operating profit fell by less than half: Before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at 214.6 million euros by the end of September, as the company announced in Munich on Thursday. Due to higher interest rates, the bottom line even showed a loss of almost 22 million euros, after a profit of 155 million euros a year earlier.

The SDax-listed stock rose by two and a half percent to 32.70 euros in the afternoon. The bottoming out since the end of August thus continued. The share price has been moving downwards since the beginning of the year. This trend accelerated in August when the half-year figures were published. Since then, the share price has not exceeded the EUR 35 mark, but it has not broken through the lower threshold of EUR 30 either. The share price is currently still expected to fall by around a quarter in 2023.

The management confirmed the annual forecast, according to which an operating profit of EUR 320 to 370 million is to be achieved in 2023. CEO Marcus Pollinger is confident about the final quarter, particularly in view of the outstanding project sales in the alternative energy business.

Baader Bank analyst Rene Rückert noted a weaker than expected quarter, which in his opinion is mainly due to the delayed sales in the final quarter. He therefore sees a good chance that the Munich-based company will meet his expectations for the year as a whole./lew/mis/he