Spanish food group Ebro Puleva has recorded a 35% jump in annual profits on the back of rising earnings from its pasta and dairy businesses.
The company, which is mulling “several” approaches from its dairy unit, booked net profit of EUR176.5m (US$237.9m) for 2009, a rise of 35% on 2008.
Annual EBITDA climbed to EUR308m – a rise of EUR13.5% – with pasta earnings up by 29% at EUR137m and dairy profits rising by more than a third to EUR67m.
Sales, however, fell 7% to EUR2.2bn as raw-material costs fell, leading to lower retail prices.
“The consolidated results of the year, with significant growth in yield and net profit, confirms the extraordinary development of the company over 2009, demonstrating the true strength of the Ebro Puleva business model,” the company said.
Ebro’s biggest business by sales – rice – booked EBITDA of EUR118.6m, down from EUR126.5m in 2008. Sales slid from EUR891m in 2008 to EUR836m in 2009.

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By GlobalDataPasta sales fell 6% to EUR928m thanks to the lower raw-material prices. Dairy revenues stood at EUR444m, down from EUR506m in 2008.