Suedzucker Stock: Dividend Slashed Despite Better-Than-Expected Results

Suedzucker AG has announced a significant dividend reduction for the 2024/25 fiscal year, cutting shareholder payments to just 20 cents per share compared to 90 cents in the previous year. This decision follows substantial profit declines across key financial metrics. The company reported that consolidated revenue fell from 10.3 to 9.7 billion euros, while operating profit plummeted from 947 to 340 million euros. Similarly, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) decreased from 1.1 billion to 715 million euros. Despite these concerning figures, financial performance exceeded analyst expectations, which may explain why the stock showed surprising resilience in trading. Shares actually gained 0.77 percent at times during XETRA trading, reaching 11.81 euros-significantly above the approximately 10 euro level seen at the beginning of the year.

Cautious Optimism for Future Recovery

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Sollten Anleger sofort verkaufen? Oder lohnt sich doch der Einstieg bei Suedzucker?

Management has maintained its forecast for the current 2025/26 fiscal year, projecting a moderate revenue decline while expecting EBITDA to range between 525 and 675 million euros. Operating profit is anticipated to further decrease to between 150 and 300 million euros. However, a key assumption in these projections offers some hope: executives believe that EU sugar price levels, which have been significantly depressed since October 2024, will substantially improve beginning with the 2025/26 sugar marketing year. The Mannheim-based sugar producer plans to release its complete financial report, including detailed forecasts, on May 15. This measured optimism comes despite ongoing operational challenges in the sugar market.