Agrana: international revenues fall, domestic revenues rise

Agrana, the Austrian producer of sugar, starch and fresh fruit saw an international decline in revenues of 5%, to 449 million euros, for the first quarter of the financial year (starting in March), whilst the Romanian branch reported a sales increase. At the same time, the company's operating income fell by almost 20%, to 28.1 million euros between March and May. According to Agrana's quarterly report, the Hungarian and Romanian divisions saw increases in their sales volumes in the March - May 2007 period, boosted, among other things, by the European currency exchange rate against the forint and the RON respectively. This year, domestically, the company contracted a sugar beet harvest from a 7,000-ha area of land and processed around 6,800 tonnes of maize in the first quarter of the year. Agr ana Romania posted a 609.2 million-RON (173 million-euro) turnover last year, up by some 52% against the previous year, while the company's profit doubled, from 5.5 million RON to 12.6 million RON. Agrana Romania's majority shareholder is Austrian company Agrana Zucker, which holds over 91% of the shares.