Südzucker : Südzucker AG Management report and financial statements 2022/23

MANAGEMENT REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SÜDZUCKER AG

DATED 28 FEBRUARY 2023 (GERMAN GAAP - HGB)

The annual report is also available in German. This translation is provided for convenience only and should not be relied upon exclusively. The German version of the annual report is definitive and takes precedence over this translation.

CONTENTS
REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD	1
MANAGEMENT REPORT	8
ABOUT THE GROUP	8
Group structure	8
Group management	8
Business model and strategy	10
EMPLOYEES	15
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT	18
BUSINESS REPORT	23
General and industry-specific business conditions	23
Legal and political environment	25
Beet harvest and campaign chronology	27
Business performance	28
OUTLOOK	32
RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES REPORT	33
Risk management	33
Summary of risk and opportunity situation	35
Internal control and risk management system as it applies to accounting systems	47
CORPORATE MANAGEMENT AND - RESPONSIBILITY	49
Supervisory board and executive board	49
Corporate governance	54
Internes Kontrollsystem und Risikomanagementsystem	56
Compliance	58
Disclosures on takeovers	59
Separate non-financial reporting section 289b (3) HGB	61
RECOMMENDATION ON APPROPRIATION OF PROFITS	62
CONCLUDING DECLARATION REGARDING THE DEPENDENT COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT
TO SECION 312 (3) OF THE STOCK CORPORATION ACT (AKTG)	62
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	64
BALANCE SHEET AS OF 28 FEBRUARY 2023	64
INCOME STATEMENT 1 MARCH 2020 TO 28 FEBRUARY 2023	65
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	66
Application of German GAAP (HGB)	66
Accounting policies	66
Notes to the balance sheet	72
Notes to the income statement	81
Other disclosures	84
RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT	101
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT	102

The numbers in parenthesis in the report represent the corresponding prior year´s figures or item.

Report of the supervisory board 1

REPORT OF THE SUPERVISORY BOARD

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The fiscal year just ended was an eventful one - for the Südzucker Group as a whole and for the supervisory board. After over 25 years on the board - 22 of which were at the helm - Dr. Hans- Jörg Gebhard did not stand for reelection in July 2022. Following the 2022 annual general meet- ing, I was elected as his successor, which is why I am pleased to welcome you for the first time as the new chairman of the supervisory board and give you an overview of the board's activities in fiscal year 2022/23. You can expect a certain degree of continuity here because I have been a member of Südzucker's supervisory board since 2017 and am thus very familiar with the company and its processes.

But first, on behalf of the supervisory board and the entire company, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Hans-Jörg Gebhard for his tireless work - during his many years in office, he has consistently driven the development of the company forward. We will all have fond memories of his charismatic, confident and eloquent man- ner, which I am sure you have all experienced for yourselves at one general meeting or another.

There has also been a change on the executive board: Dr. Thomas Kirchberg retired on 31 August 2022 after his term expired. For over 30 years, including 15 as a member of the executive board, he played a key role in shaping the development of the Südzucker Group. We owe him our thanks and recognition for this and much more.

With his successor, Hans-Peter Gai, the supervisory board has gained a highly experienced manager in the food industry. We believe this decision will ensure that Südzucker's executive board is ideally positioned for the challenges that lie ahead of us.

Now let us briefly take stock of the 2022/23 fiscal year: This year was also a challenging one for us as a supervisory board. Just as the pandemic began to subside, we found ourselves embroiled in a new crisis as the Ukraine conflict began to flare up. We have always been intentional and conscientious in our discussion of measures the executive board must take to deal with economic impacts on the Südzucker Group. These discussions usually took place as hybrid meetings - a type of gathering that may not be able to fully replace in- person meetings but has nevertheless proved to be a practical and agile form of exchange.

This enabled the supervisory board to continue to work with the executive board on the basis of mutual trust and in the spirit of a results-oriented team in fiscal 2022/23. In doing so, the supervisory board concentrated on the tasks for which it is responsible by law, the company's articles of association and the rules of procedure: to monitor and advise the executive board in the latter's management of the company.

The supervisory board was directly involved in all decisions of material importance affecting Südzucker Group and was continuously advised in detail and in a timely manner on all issues related to corporate planning and further strategic development, business activities, the status and development of Südzucker Group including risk situation, as well as risk management and com- pliance.