Steenderen, Netherlands-headquartered Aviko turned in an excellent performance in 2017, according to Royal Cosun, its Breda-based parent company. The potato products manufacturer responded promptly to growing demand for frozen french fries and specialty items around the world, and was supplied enough raw materials to meet rising orders.
Higher value-added products also strengthened the market position. Meanwhile, a cost cutting program launched in 2016 is bearing fruit as operating costs are now at a structurally lower level.
The Aviko Rixona granule and flake operation reported slightly lower results than in 2016, mainly because of setbacks in the Asian market. Nevertheless, growth opportunities for this activity have been identified in both Europe and China.
Going forward, Aviko is implementing a multi-year program to expand production capacity after making substantial investments in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and China during 2017.
Higher Turnover and Profit
Royal Cosun reported a higher turnover and a higher profit for 2017 in comparison with 2016. The improvement was due chiefly to the agro-industrial group’s Suiker Unie unit benefiting from firmer sugar prices in the first half of the financial year, resulting in €45.62 per ton of quota beet of average quality supplied during the 2017 campaign compared with €44.15 per ton in 2016. The volume of beet receiving this price rose to 6.8 million tons, up from 5.0 million tons the year before.
Consolidated turnover for the year rose to €2,112 million (2016: €1,988 million), an improvement of more than 6%. The main factors driving the increase were the higher volumes and firmer average prices underpinning Suiker Unie’s higher turnover. The results of the other activities, including the Aviko frozen and chilled potato business, were on balance slightly higher than in 2016. Operating profit rose to €108 million (2016: €77 million). The net profit advanced to €75 million (2016: €56 million), an increase of 34%.
In addition to Suiker Unie and Aviko, other members of the Royal Cosun group are Duynie, Sensus, SVZ and Cosun Biobased Products. They make food ingredients and products that are sold to industrial food processors, the foodservice sector and retail channels.
