KWS SAAT AG (ISIN: DE0007074007) is raising its net sales and income guidance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. Following excellent cereals business in the first quarter, it appears that sales of corn and sugarbeet will also be above expectations. The Executive Board now expects the KWS Group to achieve net sales of approximately €1,140 million (previous year: €986 million), about €60 million above the previous forecast. Operating income (EBIT) is expected to be at the level of the previous year (€140 million), yielding an EBIT margin of just over 12% compared with the previous year's 14.3%, a figure that had been favorably impacted by special effects. The company will publish details in its semiannual report on February 26, 2013.
"It looks like the KWS Group will be able to achieve operational growth of just over 15%. The growing demand for grain corn remains unbroken worldwide. We are benefiting from that in just about all regions thanks to our outstanding new developments. The current level of sugarbeet seed orders in North America is also clearly higher than planned," said Dr. Hagen Duenbostel, the company's Chief Financial Officer.
"It looks like the KWS Group will be able to achieve operational growth of just over 15%. The growing demand for grain corn remains unbroken worldwide. We are benefiting from that in just about all regions thanks to our outstanding new developments. The current level of sugarbeet seed orders in North America is also clearly higher than planned," said Dr. Hagen Duenbostel, the company's Chief Financial Officer.
