Winter Seeding Harvest Results 2014 – record yields

Agrokultura AB (“the Company”), the owner and operator of farmland with agricultural operations in Russia and Ukraine, reports the results of the 2014 harvest of its winter planted crops.

Highlights

• Ukraine winter barley harvest completed with net yields up 49 per cent on 2013 to 5.5 tonnes per ha

• Ukraine rapeseed harvest completed with net yields up 17 per cent to 3.4 tonnes per ha

• Ukraine winter wheat harvest materially completed with net yields up 50 per cent to 5.7 tonnes per ha
  
  
• Russian winter wheat harvest completed with net yields up 11 per cent to 4.1 tonnes per ha

• Initial results of Russian spring grains positive with yields materially in excess of 2013

Improved yields are on top of material yield increases in 2013 and are combined with previously announced cost cuts amounting to SEK 150 million over comparable 2012 costs which have been achieved and in some cases exceeded.

Weather conditions in Ukraine have been good with yields recorded so far being higher than at any time in the history of the Company. These yields are at the level required to make the Ukraine business profitable. Certain trial plots were materially higher than these average net yields and the Company is taking forward lessons to try and push average yields further in future years.

Russian crops were held back by a hot and dry May and June 2014 which prevented the full yield potential being achieved. Despite this, the Company has also delivered a record winter wheat yield beating the 2013 yield which itself was a 45 per cent rise of 2012. Improved organisation, selected machinery investments and strict adherence to operating windows all contributed to the excellent state of the crop.

The harvesting of the spring planted crops continues in Russia and will commence in Ukraine during September.

Stephen Pickup, Managing Director of Agrokultura, commented,

“We are pleased to be able to confirm the winter planted yields have come in at record levels. This has been in part due to the excellent weather conditions but also due to the improved processes, controls, budgeting and operational experience and organisation. We believe these yields will place us at the top end of scale farmers in the region.

These results are a major contributor to the turnaround which is ongoing in the business and are particularly satisfying given the major cost reductions which have been put through the business while delivering these yields. We will continue to focus on securing the rest of the of the harvest and setting more challenging cost and yield targets while also working on our sales strategies to maximise revenues.

Stockholm, 27 August 2014

For additional comments, please contact

Stephen Pickup, Group Managing Director, tel. +44 782 529 4352
Kristian Shaw, Group CFO, tel. +44 782 529 4356

Om Agrokultura AB (publ)

Agrokultura investerar i jordbruksmark och producerar jordbruksprodukter i Ryssland och Ukraina. Koncernens målsättning är att generera en attraktiv avkastning på investerat kapital genom optimal användning av dess jordbruksmark genom spannmålsproduktion, djurhållning och relaterade verksamheter. Aktierna i Agrokultura är noterade på Nasdaq OMX First North under kortnamnet AGRA och bolagets Certified Adviser är Remium Nordic AB.