Raisio plc Financial Statements Bulletin 2022

Raisio Plc’s Financial Statements Bulletin, February 8th, 2023 at 8.30 a.m. Finnish time

Growth in net sales in all market areas, strong recovery in profitability

FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN BRIEF
 

January–December 2022, continuing operations

• The Group's net sales totalled EUR 220.8 (200.0) million, which signified a growth of 10.4%.
• Comparable EBIT was EUR 18.4* (21.3) million, accounting for 8.3 (10.6)% of net sales. Comparable EBIT decreased by 13.7% in relation to the comparison period.
• EBIT was EUR 17.9** (20.2***) million, which accounted for 8.1 (10.1)% of net sales.
• The Healthy Food Segment’s net sales totalled EUR 143.0 (134.3) million. Comparable EBIT was EUR 18.0 (18.4) million, accounting for 12.6 (13.7)% of net sales. EBIT was EUR 18.0 (18.1) million, which accounted for 12.6 (13.5)% of net sales.
• The Healthy Ingredients Segment’s net sales totalled EUR 115.7 (96.6) million. Comparable EBIT was EUR 3.4 (6.3) million, accounting for 2.9 (6.6)% of net sales. EBIT was EUR 3.4 (5.6) million, which accounted for 2.9 (5.8)% of net sales.
• The Group’s cash flow from continuing operations after financial items and taxes totalled EUR 11.2 (28.4) million.
• The comparable return on investments (ROIC) was 5.6 (8.4)% and the return on investments (ROIC) was 5.5 (8.0)%.
• The overall effect of currency conversions was EUR 1.2 (1.4) million on net sales, EUR 0.2 (0.4) million on the comparable EBIT and EUR 0.2 (0.4) million on EBIT.
• The Board of Directors’ dividend proposal for the Annual General Meeting is EUR 0.14 per share, of which EUR 0.08 is the basic dividend in accordance with the company's dividend policy and EUR 0.06 the supplementary dividend. The company aims to maintain a steady total annual dividend throughout the strategy period, until 2025. However, the annual dividend payments depend on the financial performance of the company and the decisions of the Annual General Meetings for each financial year. The payment of supplementary dividends is in line with our intention, communicated at the beginning of the strategy period, to release additional capital to shareholders.

* The comparable EBIT for the financial year includes a return of EUR 1.1 million in pension fund surplus from previous years.
** EBIT includes a total of EUR 0.5 million in costs related to business expansion.
*** The EBIT of the comparison period includes EUR 0.6 million in expenses related to the corporate acquisition and altogether EUR 0.5 million in expenses from the corporate reorganisation resulting from negotiations held in accordance with the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings (334/2007).

October–December 2022, continuing operations

• The Group's net sales totalled EUR 55.6 (53.8) million, which signified a growth of 3.4%.
• Comparable EBIT was EUR 6.0 (4.9) million, accounting for 10.9 (9.2)% of net sales. Comparable EBIT increased by 22.2% in relation to the comparison period.
• EBIT was EUR 5.9* (4.6**) million, which accounted for 10.5 (8.6)% of net sales.
• The Healthy Food Segment’s net sales totalled EUR 35.6 (35.2) million. Comparable EBIT was EUR 4.5 (4.6) million, accounting for 12.7 (13.1)% of net sales. EBIT was EUR 4.5 (4.5) million, which accounted for 12.7 (12.8)% of net sales.
• The Healthy Ingredients Segment’s net sales totalled EUR 29.1 (26.7) million. Comparable EBIT was EUR 1.8 (1.6) million, accounting for 6.1 (6.1)% of net sales. EBIT was EUR 1.8 (1.5) million, which accounted for 6.1 (5.5)% of net sales.
• The Group’s cash flow from continuing operations after financial items and taxes totalled EUR 10.8 (9.2) million.
• The overall effect of currency conversions was EUR 0.0 (0.9) million on net sales, EUR 0.0 (0.2) million on the comparable EBIT and EUR 0.0 (0.2) million on EBIT.

* EBIT includes a total of EUR 0.2 million in costs related to business expansion.
** The EBIT of the comparison period includes a total of EUR 0.3 million in expenses from the corporate reorganisation resulting from negotiations held in accordance with the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings (334/2007).

KEY FIGURES OF THE GROUP, continuing operations

CEO PEKKA KUUSNIEMI:
 

2022 was a very challenging year for Raisio, but we managed it well considering the circumstances. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, which began in February, instantly changed our plans for the year, which had started so well. We decided very quickly to terminate all our business linked to Russia, which accounted for about 20% of the company’s net sales. This inevitable change, together with the unprecedented surge in grain raw material prices, had a major impact on our profitability in the first half of the year.

The divestment of the Russian sales company in April and the transfer of Raisioaqua to discontinued business operations in May made it necessary to look at the company’s operations from a new perspective. To accelerate the implementation of the strategy, we launched a comprehensive change programme in early August. As a result of this planning, in December Raisio updated its long-term financial goals until 2025.

The continuing operations’ net sales for the financial year increased to EUR 220.9 (200.0) million, which signified a growth of 10.4%. The sharp rise in costs led to a need for significant price increases. We implemented the increases in the shortest time frame possible, and profitability started to recover already in early summer. The comparable EBIT was EUR 18.4 (21.3) million, but what is noteworthy is the rapid rebound to good profitability, as evidenced by the final quarter’s profit of EUR 6.0 (4.9) million and 10.9% (9.2) of net sales. The more than doubled grain prices tied up working capital and thus weakened Raisio’s cash flow, which was EUR 11.2 (28.4) million, but in the final quarter it was EUR 10.8 (9.2) million. The strong positive change in cash flow is another indicator of the rapid improvement in the situation.

In the Healthy Food Segment, profitability was maintained at the previous period’s level at EUR 18.0 (18.4) million, despite the difficult conditions. Marketing investments were increased by more than three million euros compared to the comparison period to support Raisio’s numerous new product launches. The impact of inflation on consumer demand became most visible in the final quarter. The decline in volume has been moderate and I do not see it continuing. Our strong brands, with a steady stream of interesting new launches, keep consumer demand up. Particularly pleasing is the staggering growth of almost 30% for the iconic Finnish oat brand Elovena® during the review period. Benecol® lost volume due to significant price increases in the second half of the year but maintained a good level of profitability. Preparations for the renewal of the Härkis® plant protein brand were made during the review period, the results of which will be enjoyed in the current year.

The difficult raw material situation particularly impacted the performance of the Healthy Ingredients Segment and profitability decreased to EUR 3.4 (6.3) million. The sharp rise in grain prices, combined with the previous year’s poor harvest in terms of quantity and quality, reduced both yields in production and profitability in BtoB sales, despite the price increases. However, profitability improved once processing of the new harvest started towards the end of the third quarter. Sales efforts for both domestic and international markets increased significantly during the period, with a focus on gluten-free oats and plant protein products.

The financial year as a whole was definitely one of the most challenging in Raisio’s 84-year history. With good cooperation, we achieved an upward trend, as the financial development within the year clearly demonstrates. As the challenges in the operating environment continue, it is excellent that the company has a clear strategic direction and a very strong balance sheet and financial position. At the beginning of our strategy period, we also communicated our goal to release additional capital to our shareholders, which we are now proposing to the Annual General Meeting, as we did after the previous financial year. A big thank you to our employees and partners for the past financial year. Full steam ahead!

OUTLOOK 2023

Raisio is expecting comparable net sales and profit to increase from the previous year.

 

In Raisio, Finland , 7 February 2023
Raisio plc
Board of Directors

Further information:
Pekka Kuusniemi, CEO, tel. +358 50 537 3883
Mika Saarinen, CFO, tel. +358 40 072 6808

The Financial Statements Bulletin has not been audited.

Webcast targeted for analysts, investors and media will be held in Finnish by CEO Pekka Kuusniemi on February 8, 2023, starting at 12.00 EET. Webcast will be available on this link: https://raisio.videosync.fi/tilinpaatos-2022

Raisio’s financial releases in 2023:

Financial Statements, the Report of the Board of Directors and the Corporate Responsibility Report 2022 will be published on 22 March 2023.

Raisio’s Interim Report for January–March will be published on 3 May 2023.

Raisio’s Half-Year Financial Report for January–June will be published on 9 August 2023.

Raisio’s Interim Report for January–September will be published on 1 November 2023.

RAISIO PLC
At Raisio, we make food from the heart, with the aim of bringing health to ourselves and the Earth. We keep creating better plant-based and heart-healthy products so that eating healthily and within the Earth’s ecological capacity can be a pleasure. Our strong brands, such as Benecol®, Beanit®, Härkis® and Elovena®, turn our ambitions into reality. Through our responsibility work, we make the hard choices for consumers, so that they can choose Raisio products with confidence. We have around 380 healthy food colleagues in seven countries and export to more than 40 markets around the world. Raisio's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. In 2021, the Group’s comparable net sales for continuing operations were approximately EUR 200 million and the comparable EBIT was approximately EUR 21 million. www.raisio.com