MANNHEIM (dpa-AFX) - Good sugar business in the first half of the financial year has made Südzucker once again more optimistic about its annual results. This is the second time this year that the group has raised its earnings forecast. But not all segments are doing well. Although the Mannheimer share initially jumped more than 3 percent after the start of trading on Thursday, in the meantime the SDax-listed securities are still up around 1.3 percent.

The Mannheim-based company now expects an operating profit of between 900 million euros and one billion euros for 2023. Previously, the Group had been looking at 850 to 950 million euros. In terms of sales, however, management is becoming somewhat more cautious: Previously, Group management had expected earnings of between 10.4 and 10.9 billion euros, but now the range has been reduced to 10.0 to 10.5 billion euros. However, this would still put sales above the previous year's figure, it said.

In the sugar business, profits rose significantly in the second half of the year despite declining sales volumes. Volumes had declined mainly due to the poor harvest resulting from the drought in 2022. However, higher prices more than offset these declines. Higher prices were also the main driver in the special products segment. The Group was more successful this year in passing on the burdens of higher raw material, packaging and energy costs to the market.

Südzucker's biofuel business at its Cropenergies subsidiary saw declines, as already reported on Wednesday. Compared to the previous year, ethanol prices have normalized, while planned maintenance shutdowns and the resulting decline in sales volumes weighed on profits.

In the first half of the fiscal year to the end of August, the Group increased its sales by almost a tenth to almost 5.1 billion euros. Operating profit rose from 316 million euros to 592 million euros in this period. In the sugar business in particular, the Group achieved significant growth despite declining volumes thanks to price increases./knd/ngu/stk