Apetit Plc: Financial Statements Release 1 January to 31 December 2024: operating result improved from comparison year

13.2.2025 08:30:01 EET | Apetit Oyj | Financial Statement Release

Apetit Plc: Financial Statements Release 1 January to 31 December 2024: operating result improved from comparison year

October–December 2024, continuing operations*)

• Net sales for continuing operations amounted to EUR 42.9 (42.6) million. EBITDA was EUR 4.2 (3.7) million. Operating profit was EUR 2.4 (2.2) million. Net sales and operating result were on a par with the comparison period.
• The net sales of Food Solutions were EUR 20.4 (19.8) million and operating profit EUR 3.1 (2.0) million. Net sales increased, although sales volumes were slightly lower than in the comparison period. In Food Solutions, operating result was better than expected and improved clearly year-on-year.
• The net sales of Oilseed Products were EUR 22.7 (22.9) million and operating profit EUR 0.3 (0.9) million. Operating result decreased clearly from that of the comparison period. The result declined due to changes in market prices.

January–December 2024, continuing operations*)

• Net sales for continuing operations were EUR 162.6 (175.5) million. EBITDA was EUR 16.0 (13.2) million. Operating profit was EUR 9.3 (7.5) million. Apetit’s full-year net sales declined, mainly due to changes in oilseed plant market prices. Improvement from the comparison year could be witnessed both in Apetit’s operating result and especially clearly in the operating result of Food Solutions.
• The net sales of Food Solutions were EUR 75.8 (73.7) million and operating profit EUR 8.1 (5.8) million. Net sales increased in retail trade and the Food service sector. Sales volumes decreased slightly from the comparison year. Profit improvement was driven by the systematic work to improve profitability and product group-specific sales development.
• The net sales of Oilseed Products were EUR 87.4 (102.4) million and operating profit EUR 4.2 (4.6) million. Changes in market prices decreased net sales clearly and weakened profitability.

October–December 2024, Group, incl. discontinued operations**)

• The Group’s net sales were EUR 42.9 (42.6) million. EBITDA was EUR 4.2 (3.7) million. Operating profit was EUR 2.4 (2.2) million.
• The net sales of Grain Trade were EUR 0.0 (0.0) million and operating profit EUR 0.0 (0.0) million.

January–December 2024, Group, incl. discontinued operations**)

• The Group’s net sales were EUR 162.6 (175.5) million. EBITDA was EUR 16.0 (13.1) million. Operating profit was EUR 9.3 (7.5) million.
• The net sales of Grain Trade were EUR 0.0 (0.0) million and operating profit EUR 0.0 (-0.1) million.
• The Group’s liquidity was good, and its financial position was strong. The equity ratio was 79.8 (78.9) per cent and gearing was 3.1 (-5.7) per cent. The Group’s cash flow from operating activities after interest and taxes was EUR 3.2 (9.7) million. Proactive raw material sourcing in Oilseed Products towards the end of the year weakened gearing and cash flow from operating activities.

*) Apetit’s continuing operations are Food Solutions and Oilseed Products. In addition, Apetit reports Group Functions, consisting of the expenses related to Group management and strategic projects, that are not allocated to the business segments.

**) Grain Trade has been reported as a discontinued operation starting from the Q1/2022 Business Review. The divestment of the Grain Trade business was completed in stages during the first half of 2022.

The figures for 2024 and 2023 have been audited. The quarterly and six-month figures are unaudited. The figures in brackets refer to the corresponding period in 2023, and the comparison period means the corresponding period in 2023, unless otherwise stated.

PROFIT GUIDANCE FOR 2025

Group’s operating result is estimated to slightly decrease from the comparison year (EUR 9.3 million in 2024).

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ DIVIDEND PROPOSAL

The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.75 per share be paid for the financial year 2024.

Esa Mäki, CEO:

“The full-year operating result from Apetit’s continuing operations improved from the comparison year. Food Solutions achieved a clear improvement in profit performance and Oilseed Products was slightly behind the comparison year’s result.

The profit improvement in Food Solutions reflects the systematic work to improve profitability. Product portfolio management and product group-specific sales development have contributed to this profit improvement. The success of from field to freezer chain and harvest season production strengthened the result of Food Solutions. One factor behind the decline of the operating result in Oilseed Products was the decrease of market prices.

The Group’s full-year net sales decreased clearly from the comparison year due to the decline in oilseed product market prices. In Food Solutions, net sales grew slightly from the comparison period. In both businesses, sales volumes declined mainly due to normal yearly fluctuations.

Food Solutions performed more strongly than expected in the fourth quarter. Also Apetit’s operating result in the final quarter of the year improved from the comparison period.

During the year under review, we promoted several strategically significant projects. The update of the Group’s ERP system progressed on schedule; deployment of the system in Food Solutions was carried out at the turn of September and October 2024. The project continues towards deployment of the ERP system in Oilseed Products during the second half of 2025. Deployment in Food Solutions was carried out successfully thanks to competent personnel and good planning.

The bottling line at the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant became operational as planned. With the new line, we are taking the supply chain of vegetable oils firmly into our own hands. In addition, the bottling line makes it possible to develop products with a higher degree of processing. The bottling line investment was realised as budgeted, amounting to approximately EUR 4.5 million. Thanks to the new bottling line, we have been able to reduce the amount of plastic we use in vegetable oil bottles by 41 per cent on average.

One of Apetit’s strategic focus areas is More domestic plant proteins. We have taken steps in the commercialisation of our BlackGrain rapeseed powder. Development work has focused on improving the production process. We have started analysing different options for the production of BlackGrain plant protein. The analysis assesses potential partnerships and the organisation of production either through making an investment in the Kantvik vegetable oil milling plant or with purchased services. The analysis is expected to be completed in late 2025. The Finnish pea protein project is continuing as planned. In 2024, we conducted small-scale testing with Finnish raw materials to produce pea protein. Work carried out in the project has focused on trial runs and technology comparison to consolidate the competitive advantage.

Increasing food exports and strengthening our position in Sweden is also one of our strategic focus areas. In order to achieve this goal, we established our own sales organisation in Sweden at the beginning of 2024. The strengthening of Apetit’s position in Sweden progressed. Besides retail, we have now expanded to Food service sector.

We are pleased with the Finnish harvest season for both businesses. The frozen pea harvest from a record-large contract farming area was largely in line with expectations and the field-to-factory process ran smoothly. The root vegetable growing season was long, thanks to the warm autumn, and the quality and quantity of the harvest were mainly in line with the targets. According to the Natural Resources Institute Finland’s harvest forecasts, the total Finnish rapeseed harvest increased by more than a fifth. With regard to oilseed plants, things are developing in the right direction and we at Apetit are working to increase the cultivation of domestic oilseed plants. In both of our businesses, we want to use as much domestic raw materials as possible. Increasing the cultivation area of frozen peas and domestic oilseed plants is one of our strategic focus areas.

The price increase of food stopped in 2024, but the higher price level is still reflected in consumer purchasing behavior.

The new national nutritional recommendations published in the autumn recommend a varied diet with plenty of vegetables and adequate use of vegetable oils. Apetit focuses on domestic and plant-based raw materials as well as products that promote well-being and sustainable consumption. The cornerstones of Apetit’s product selection are relatively affordable and in many respects meet the requirements of consumers today: they are a responsible choice that supports people’s well-being and suit their budget in daily life. We expect demand to remain high in Apetit’s various product categories.

At the beginning of the strategy period 2023–2025, we set the following financial objectives: operating result (EBIT) of more than EUR 9 million and return on capital employed (ROCE) of more than 8 per cent. By the end of 2024, we achieved the financial objectives set for the period. We will continue to develop Apetit in line with our vision: Growing and profitable market leader in plant-based products.

I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank all Apetit employees for the year 2024 and the owners, customers, contract growers and other partners for their cooperation.”

WEBCAST

A news conference (in Finnish) will be held as a live webcast on Thursday, 13 February 2025 at 11:00 a.m. The news conference can be followed at apetit.fi/sijoittajille. The presentation material and a recording of the webcast will be available on the company’s website after the news conference.

Contacts

• Esa Mäki, CEO, Apetit Oyj, +358104022100, esa.maki@apetit.fi

About Apetit Oyj

Apetit is a food industry company firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. Our operations are based on a unique and sustainable value chain: we create well-being with vegetables by offering tasty food solutions that make daily life easier and produce high-quality vegetable oils and rapeseed expellers for feeding stuff. Apetit Plc's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. Read more: apetit.fi

Attachments

• Apetit-Plc_Financial_Statements_Release_2024.pdf